qualitative research on gender studies

• Tools and Resources
• Customer Services
• Original Language Spotlight
• Alternative and Non-formal Education 
• Cognition, Emotion, and Learning
• Curriculum and Pedagogy
• Education and Society
• Education, Change, and Development
• Education, Cultures, and Ethnicities
• Education, Gender, and Sexualities
• Education, Health, and Social Services
• Educational Administration and Leadership
• Educational History
• Educational Politics and Policy
• Educational Purposes and Ideals
• Educational Systems
• Educational Theories and Philosophies
• Globalization, Economics, and Education
• Languages and Literacies
• Professional Learning and Development
• Research and Assessment Methods
• Technology and Education
• Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Article contents

Feminist theory and its use in qualitative research in education.

• Emily Freeman Emily Freeman University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1193
• Published online: 28 August 2019

Feminist theory rose in prominence in educational research during the 1980s and experienced a resurgence in popularity during the late 1990s−2010s. Standpoint epistemologies, intersectionality, and feminist poststructuralism are the most prevalent theories, but feminist researchers often work across feminist theoretical thought. Feminist qualitative research in education encompasses a myriad of methods and methodologies, but projects share a commitment to feminist ethics and theories. Among the commitments are the understanding that knowledge is situated in the subjectivities and lived experiences of both researcher and participants and research is deeply reflexive. Feminist theory informs both research questions and the methodology of a project in addition to serving as a foundation for analysis. The goals of feminist educational research include dismantling systems of oppression, highlighting gender-based disparities, and seeking new ways of constructing knowledge.

• feminist theories
• qualitative research
• educational research
• positionality
• methodology

Introduction

Feminist qualitative research begins with the understanding that all knowledge is situated in the bodies and subjectivities of people, particularly women and historically marginalized groups. Donna Haraway ( 1988 ) wrote,

I am arguing for politics and epistemologies of location, position, and situating, where partiality and not universality is the condition of being heard to make rational knowledge claims. These are claims on people’s lives I’m arguing for the view from a body, always a complex, contradictory, structuring, and structured body, versus the view from above, from nowhere, from simplicity. Only the god trick is forbidden. . . . Feminism is about a critical vision consequent upon a critical positioning in unhomogeneous gendered social space. (p. 589)

By arguing that “politics and epistemologies” are always interpretive and partial, Haraway offered feminist qualitative researchers in education a way to understand all research as potentially political and always interpretive and partial. Because all humans bring their own histories, biases, and subjectivities with them to a research space or project, it is naïve to think that the written product of research could ever be considered neutral, but what does research with a strong commitment to feminism look like in the context of education?

Writing specifically about the ways researchers of both genders can use feminist ethnographic methods while conducting research on schools and schooling, Levinson ( 1998 ) stated, “I define feminist ethnography as intensive qualitative research, aimed toward the description and analysis of the gendered construction and representation of experience, which is informed by a political and intellectual commitment to the empowerment of women and the creation of more equitable arrangements between and among specific, culturally defined genders” (p. 339). The core of Levinson’s definition is helpful for understanding the ways that feminist educational anthropologists engage with schools as gendered and political constructs and the larger questions of feminist qualitative research in education. His message also extends to other forms of feminist qualitative research. By focusing on description, analysis, and representation of gendered constructs, educational researchers can move beyond simple binary analyses to more nuanced understandings of the myriad ways gender operates within educational contexts.

Feminist qualitative research spans the range of qualitative methodologies, but much early research emerged out of the feminist postmodern turn in anthropology (Behar & Gordon, 1995 ), which was a response to male anthropologists who ignored the gendered implications of ethnographic research (e.g., Clifford & Marcus, 1986 ). Historically, most of the work on feminist education was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, with a resurgence in the late 2010s (Culley & Portuges, 1985 ; DuBois, Kelly, Kennedy, Korsmeyer, & Robinson, 1985 ; Gottesman, 2016 ; Maher & Tetreault, 1994 ; Thayer-Bacon, Stone, & Sprecher, 2013 ). Within this body of research, the majority focuses on higher education (Coffey & Delamont, 2000 ; Digiovanni & Liston, 2005 ; Diller, Houston, Morgan, & Ayim, 1996 ; Gabriel & Smithson, 1990 ; Mayberry & Rose, 1999 ). Even leading journals, such as Feminist Teacher ( 1984 −present), focus mostly on the challenges of teaching about and to women in higher education, although more scholarship on P–12 education has emerged in recent issues.

There is also a large collection of work on the links between gender, achievement, and self-esteem (American Association of University Women, 1992 , 1999 ; Digiovanni & Liston, 2005 ; Gilligan, 1982 ; Hancock, 1989 ; Jackson, Paechter, & Renold, 2010 ; National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, 2002 ; Orenstein, 1994 ; Pipher, 1994 ; Sadker & Sadker, 1994 ). However, just because research examines gender does not mean that it is feminist. Simply using gender as a category of analysis does not mean the research project is informed by feminist theory, ethics, or methods, but it is often a starting point for researchers who are interested in the complex ways gender is constructed and the ways it operates in education.

This article examines the histories and theories of U.S.–based feminism, the tenets of feminist qualitative research and methodologies, examples of feminist qualitative studies, and the possibilities for feminist qualitative research in education to provide feminist educational researchers context and methods for engaging in transformative and subversive research. Each section provides a brief overview of the major concepts and conversations, along with examples from educational research to highlight the ways feminist theory has informed educational scholarship. Some examples are given limited attention and serve as entry points into a more detailed analysis of a few key examples. While there is a large body of non-Western feminist theory (e.g., the works of Lila Abu-Lughod, Sara Ahmed, Raewyn Connell, Saba Mahmood, Chandra Mohanty, and Gayatri Spivak), much of the educational research using feminist theory draws on Western feminist theory. This article focuses on U.S.–based research to show the ways that the utilization of feminist theory has changed since the 1980s.

Histories, Origins, and Theories of U.S.–Based Feminism

The normative historiography of feminist theory and activism in the United States is broken into three waves. First-wave feminism (1830s−1920s) primarily focused on women’s suffrage and women’s rights to legally exist in public spaces. During this time period, there were major schisms between feminist groups concerning abolition, rights for African American women, and the erasure of marginalized voices from larger feminist debates. The second wave (1960s and 1980s) worked to extend some of the rights won during the first wave. Activists of this time period focused on women’s rights to enter the workforce, sexual harassment, educational equality, and abortion rights. During this wave, colleges and universities started creating women’s studies departments and those scholars provided much of the theoretical work that informs feminist research and activism today. While there were major feminist victories during second-wave feminism, notably Title IX and Roe v. Wade , issues concerning the marginalization of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity led many feminists of color to separate from mainstream white feminist groups. The third wave (1990s to the present) is often characterized as the intersectional wave, as some feminist groups began utilizing Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality ( 1991 ) to understand that oppression operates via multiple categories (e.g., gender, race, class, age, ability) and that intersecting oppressions lead to different lived experiences.

Historians and scholars of feminism argue that dividing feminist activism into three waves flattens and erases the major contributions of women of color and gender-nonconforming people. Thompson ( 2002 ) called this history a history of hegemonic feminism and proposed that we look at the contributions of multiracial feminism when discussing history. Her work, along with that of Allen ( 1984 ) about the indigenous roots of U.S. feminism, raised many questions about the ways that feminism operates within the public and academic spheres. For those who wish to engage in feminist research, it is vital to spend time understanding the historical, theoretical, and political ways that feminism(s) can both liberate and oppress, depending on the scholar’s understandings of, and orientations to, feminist projects.

Standpoint Epistemology

Much of the theoretical work that informs feminist qualitative research today emerged out of second-wave feminist scholarship. Standpoint epistemology, according to Harding ( 1991 , 2004 ), posits that knowledge comes from one’s particular social location, that it is subjective, and the further one is from the hegemonic norm, the clearer one can see oppression. This was a major challenge to androcentric and Enlightenment theories of knowledge because standpoint theory acknowledges that there is no universal understanding of the world. This theory aligns with the second-wave feminist slogan, “The personal is political,” and advocates for a view of knowledge that is produced from the body.

Greene ( 1994 ) wrote from a feminist postmodernist epistemology and attacked Enlightenment thinking by using standpoint theory as her starting point. Her work serves as an example of one way that educational scholars can use standpoint theory in their work. She theorized encounters with “imaginative literature” to help educators conceptualize new ways of using reading and writing in the classroom and called for teachers to think of literature as “a harbinger of the possible.” (Greene, 1994 , p. 218). Greene wrote from an explicitly feminist perspective and moved beyond simple analyses of gender to a larger critique of the ways that knowledge is constructed in classrooms.

Intersectionality

Crenshaw ( 1991 ) and Collins ( 2000 ) challenged and expanded standpoint theory to move it beyond an individual understanding of knowledge to a group-based theory of oppression. Their work, and that of other black and womanist feminists, opened up multiple spaces of possibility for feminist scholars and researchers because it challenged hegemonic feminist thought. For those interested in conducting feminist research in educational settings, their work is especially pertinent because they advocate for feminists to attend to all aspects of oppression rather than flattening them to one of simple gender-based oppression.

Haddix, McArthur, Muhammad, Price-Dennis, and Sealey-Ruiz ( 2016 ), all women-of-color feminist educators, wrote a provocateur piece in a special issue of English Education on black girls’ literacy. The four authors drew on black feminist thought and conducted a virtual kitchen-table conversation. By symbolically representing their conversations as one from the kitchen, this article pays homage to women-of-color feminism and pushes educators who read English Education to reconsider elements of their own subjectivities. Third-wave feminism and black feminism emphasize intersectionality, in that different demographic details like race, class, and gender are inextricably linked in power structures. Intersectionality is an important frame for educational research because identifying the unique experiences, realities, and narratives of those involved in educational systems can highlight the ways that power and oppression operate in society.

Feminist Poststructural Theory

Feminist poststructural theory has greatly informed many feminist projects in educational research. Deconstruction is

a critical practice that aims to ‘dismantle [ déconstruire ] the metaphysical and rhetorical structures that are at work, not in order to reject or discard them, but to reinscribe them in another way,’ (Derrida, quoted in Spivak, 1974 , p. lxxv). Thus, deconstruction is not about tearing down, but about looking at how a structure has been constructed, what holds it together, and what it produces. (St. Pierre, 2000 , p. 482)

Reality, subjectivity, knowledge, and truth are constructed through language and discourse (cultural practices, power relations, etc.), so truth is local and diverse, rather than a universal experience (St. Pierre, 2000 ). Feminist poststructuralist theory may be used to question structural inequality that is maintained in education through dominant discourses.

In Go Be a Writer! Expanding the Curricular Boundaries of Literacy Learning with Children , Kuby and Rucker ( 2016 ) explored early elementary literacy practices using poststructural and posthumanist theories. Their book drew on hours of classroom observations, student interviews and work, and their own musings on ways to de-standardize literacy instruction and curriculum. Through the process of pedagogical documentation, Kuby and Rucker drew on the works of Barad, Deleuze and Guattari, and Derrida to explore the ways they saw children engaging in what they call “literacy desiring(s).” One aim of the book is to find practical and applicable ways to “Disrupt literacy in ways that rewrite the curriculum, the interactions, and the power dynamics of the classroom even begetting a new kind of energy that spirals and bounces and explodes” (Kuby & Rucker, 2016 , p. 5). The second goal of their book is not only to understand what happened in Rucker’s classroom using the theories, but also to unbound the links between “teaching↔learning” (p. 202) and to write with the theories, rather than separating theory from the methodology and classroom enactments (p. 45) because “knowing/being/doing were not separate” (p. 28). This work engages with key tenets of feminist poststructuralist theory and adds to both the theoretical and pedagogical conversations about what counts as a literacy practice.

While the discussion in this section provides an overview of the histories and major feminist theories, it is by no means exhaustive. Scholars who wish to engage in feminist educational research need to spend time doing the work of understanding the various theories and trajectories that constitute feminist work so they are able to ground their projects and theories in a particular tradition that will inform the ethics and methods of research.

Tenets of Feminist Qualitative Research

Why engage in feminist qualitative research.

Evans and Spivak ( 2016 ) stated, “The only real and effective way you can sabotage something this way is when you are working intimately within it.” Feminist researchers are in the classroom and the academy, working intimately within curricular, pedagogical, and methodological constraints that serve neoliberal ideologies, so it is vital to better understand the ways that we can engage in affirmative sabotage to build a more just and equitable world. Spivak’s ( 2014 ) notion of affirmative sabotage has become a cornerstone for understanding feminist qualitative research and teaching. She borrowed and built on Gramsci’s role of the organic intellectual and stated that they/we need to engage in affirmative sabotage to transform the humanities.

I used the term “affirmative sabotage” to gloss on the usual meaning of sabotage: the deliberate ruining of the master’s machine from the inside. Affirmative sabotage doesn’t just ruin; the idea is of entering the discourse that you are criticizing fully, so that you can turn it around from inside. The only real and effective way you can sabotage something this way is when you are working intimately within it. (Evans & Spivak, 2016 )

While Spivak has been mostly concerned with literary education, her writings provide teachers and researchers numerous lines of inquiry into projects that can explode androcentric universal notions of knowledge and resist reproductive heteronormativity.

Spivak’s pedagogical musings center on deconstruction, primarily Derridean notions of deconstruction (Derrida, 2016 ; Jackson & Mazzei, 2012 ; Spivak, 2006 , 2009 , 2012 ) that seek to destabilize existing categories and to call into question previously unquestioned beliefs about the goals of education. Her works provide an excellent starting point for examining the links between feminism and educational research. The desire to create new worlds within classrooms, worlds that are fluid, interpretive, and inclusive in order to interrogate power structures, lies at the core of what it means to be a feminist education researcher. As researchers, we must seriously engage with feminist theory and include it in our research so that feminism is not seen as a dirty word, but as a movement/pedagogy/methodology that seeks the liberation of all (Davis, 2016 ).

Feminist research and feminist teaching are intrinsically linked. As Kerkhoff ( 2015 ) wrote, “Feminist pedagogy requires students to challenge the norms and to question whether existing practices privilege certain groups and marginalize others” (p. 444), and this is exactly what feminist educational research should do. Bailey ( 2001 ) called on teachers, particularly those who identify as feminists, to be activists, “The values of one’s teaching should not be separated sharply from the values one expresses outside the classroom, because teaching is not inherently pure or laboratory practice” (p. 126); however, we have to be careful not to glorify teachers as activists because that leads to the risk of misinterpreting actions. Bailey argued that teaching critical thinking is not enough if it is not coupled with curriculums and pedagogies that are antiheteronormative, antisexist, and antiracist. As Bailey warned, just using feminist theory or identifying as a feminist is not enough. It is very easy to use the language and theories of feminism without being actively feminist in one’s research. There are ethical and methodological issues that feminist scholars must consider when conducting research.

Feminist research requires one to discuss ethics, not as a bureaucratic move, but as a reflexive move that shows the researchers understand that, no matter how much they wish it didn’t, power always plays a role in the process. According to Davies ( 2014 ), “Ethics, as Barad defines it, is a matter of questioning what is being made to matter and how that mattering affects what it is possible to do and to think” (p. 11). In other words, ethics is what is made to matter in a particular time and place.

Davies ( 2016 ) extended her definition of ethics to the interactions one has with others.

This is not ethics as a matter of separate individuals following a set of rules. Ethical practice, as both Barad and Deleuze define it, requires thinking beyond the already known, being open in the moment of the encounter, pausing at the threshold and crossing over. Ethical practice is emergent in encounters with others, in emergent listening with others. It is a matter of questioning what is being made to matter and how that mattering affects what it is possible to do and to think. Ethics is emergent in the intra-active encounters in which knowing, being, and doing (epistemology, ontology, and ethics) are inextricably linked. (Barad, 2007 , p. 83)

The ethics of any project must be negotiated and contested before, during, and after the process of conducting research in conjunction with the participants. Feminist research is highly reflexive and should be conducted in ways that challenge power dynamics between individuals and social institutions. Educational researchers must heed the warning to avoid the “god-trick” (Haraway, 1988 ) and to continually question and re-question the ways we seek to define and present subjugated knowledge (Hesse-Biber, 2012 ).

Positionalities and Reflexivity

According to feminist ethnographer Noelle Stout, “Positionality isn’t meant to be a few sentences at the beginning of a work” (personal communication, April 5, 2016 ). In order to move to new ways of experiencing and studying the world, it is vital that scholars examine the ways that reflexivity and positionality are constructed. In a glorious footnote, Margery Wolf ( 1992 ) related reflexivity in anthropological writing to a bureaucratic procedure (p. 136), and that resonates with how positionality often operates in the field of education.

The current trend in educational research is to include a positionality statement that fixes the identity of the author in a particular place and time and is derived from feminist standpoint theory. Researchers should make their biases and the identities of the authors clear in a text, but there are serious issues with the way that positionality functions as a boundary around the authors. Examining how the researchers exert authority within a text allows the reader the opportunity to determine the intent and philosophy behind the text. If positionality were used in an embedded and reflexive manner, then educational research would be much richer and allow more nuanced views of schools, in addition to being more feminist in nature. The rest of this section briefly discussrs articles that engage with feminist ethics regarding researcher subjectivities and positionality, and two articles are examined in greater depth.

When looking for examples of research that includes deeply reflexive and embedded positionality, one finds that they mostly deal with issues of race, equity, and diversity. The highlighted articles provide examples of positionality statements that are deeply reflexive and represent the ways that feminist researchers can attend to the ethics of being part of a research project. These examples all come from feminist ethnographic projects, but they are applicable to a wide variety of feminist qualitative projects.

Martinez ( 2016 ) examined how research methods are or are not appropriate for specific contexts. Calderon ( 2016 ) examined autoethnography and the reproduction of “settler colonial understandings of marginalized communities” (p. 5). Similarly, Wissman, Staples, Vasudevan, and Nichols ( 2015 ) discussed how to research with adolescents through engaged participation and collaborative inquiry, and Ceglowski and Makovsky ( 2012 ) discussed the ways researchers can engage in duoethnography with young children.

Abajian ( 2016 ) uncovered the ways military recruiters operate in high schools and paid particular attention to the politics of remaining neutral while also working to subvert school militarization. She wrote,

Because of the sensitive and also controversial nature of my research, it was not possible to have a collaborative process with students, teachers, and parents. Purposefully intervening would have made documentation impossible because that would have (rightfully) aligned me with anti-war and counter-recruitment activists who were usually not welcomed on school campuses (Abajian & Guzman, 2013 ). It was difficult enough to find an administrator who gave me consent to conduct my research within her school, as I had explicitly stated in my participant recruitment letters and consent forms that I was going to research the promotion of post-secondary paths including the military. Hence, any purposeful intervention on my part would have resulted in the termination of my research project. At the same time, my documentation was, in essence, an intervention. I hoped that my presence as an observer positively shaped the context of my observation and also contributed to the larger struggle against the militarization of schools. (p. 26)

Her positionality played a vital role in the creation, implementation, and analysis of military recruitment, but it also forced her into unexpected silences in order to carry out her research. Abajian’s positionality statement brings up many questions about the ways researchers have to use or silence their positionality to further their research, especially if they are working in ostensibly “neutral” and “politically free” zones, such as schools. Her work drew on engaged anthropology (Low & Merry, 2010 ) and critical reflexivity (Duncan-Andrade & Morrell, 2008 ) to highlight how researchers’ subjectivities shape ethnographic projects. Questions of subjectivity and positionality in her work reflect the larger discourses around these topics in feminist theory and qualitative research.

Brown ( 2011 ) provided another example of embedded and reflexive positionality of the articles surveyed. Her entire study engaged with questions about how her positionality influenced the study during the field-work portion of her ethnography on how race and racism operate in ethnographic field-work. This excerpt from her study highlights how she conceived of positionality and how it informed her work and her process.

Next, I provide a brief overview of the research study from which this paper emerged and I follow this with a presentation of four, first-person narratives from key encounters I experienced while doing ethnographic field research. Each of these stories centres the role race played as I negotiated my multiple, complex positionality vis-á-vis different informants and participants in my study. These stories highlight the emotional pressures that race work has on the researcher and the research process, thus reaffirming why one needs to recognise the role race plays, and may play, in research prior to, during, and after conducting one’s study (Milner, 2007 ). I conclude by discussing the implications these insights have on preparing researchers of color to conduct cross-racial qualitative research. (Brown, 2011 , p. 98)

Brown centered the roles of race and subjectivity, both hers and her participants, by focusing her analysis on the four narratives. The researchers highlighted in this section thought deeply about the ethics of their projects and the ways that their positionality informed their choice of methods.

Methods and Challenges

Feminist qualitative research can take many forms, but the most common data collection methods include interviews, observations, and narrative or discourse analysis. For the purposes of this article, methods refer to the tools and techniques researchers use, while methodology refers to the larger philosophical and epistemological approaches to conducting research. It is also important to note that these are not fixed terms, and that there continues to be much debate about what constitutes feminist theory and feminist research methods among feminist qualitative researchers. This section discusses some of the tensions and constraints of using feminist theory in educational research.

Jackson and Mazzei ( 2012 ) called on researchers to think through their data with theory at all stages of the collection and analysis process. They also reminded us that all data collection is partial and informed by the researcher’s own beliefs (Koro-Ljungberg, Löytönen, & Tesar, 2017 ). Interviews are sites of power and critiques because they show the power of stories and serve as a method of worlding, the process of “making a world, turning insight into instrument, through and into a possible act of freedom” (Spivak, 2014 , p. xiii). Interviews allow researchers and participants ways to engage in new ways of understanding past experiences and connecting them to feminist theories. The narratives serve as data, but it is worth noting that the data collected from interviews are “partial, incomplete, and always being re-told and re-membered” (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012 , p. 3), much like the lived experiences of both researcher and participant.

Research, data collection, and interpretation are not neutral endeavors, particularly with interviews (Jackson & Mazzei, 2009 ; Mazzei, 2007 , 2013 ). Since education research emerged out of educational psychology (Lather, 1991 ; St. Pierre, 2016 ), historically there has been an emphasis on generalizability and positivist data collection methods. Most feminist research makes no claims of generalizability or truth; indeed, to do so would negate the hyperpersonal and particular nature of this type of research (Love, 2017 ). St. Pierre ( 2016 ) viewed the lack of generalizability as an asset of feminist and poststructural research, rather than a limitation, because it creates a space of resistance against positivist research methodologies.

Denzin and Giardina ( 2016 ) urged researchers to “consider an alternative mode of thinking about the critical turn in qualitative inquiry and posit the following suggestion: perhaps it is time we turned away from ‘methodology’ altogether ” (p. 5, italics original). Despite the contention over the term critical among some feminist scholars (e.g. Ellsworth, 1989 ), their suggestion is valid and has been picked up by feminist and poststructural scholars who examine the tensions between following a strict research method/ology and the theoretical systems out of which they operate because precision in method obscures the messy and human nature of research (Koro-Ljungberg, 2016 ; Koro-Ljungberg et al., 2017 ; Love, 2017 ; St. Pierre & Pillow, 2000 ). Feminist qualitative researchers should seek to complicate the question of what method and methodology mean when conducting feminist research (Lather, 1991 ), due to the feminist emphasis on reflexive and situated research methods (Hesse-Biber, 2012 ).

Examples of Feminist Qualitative Research in Education

A complete overview of the literature is not possible here, due to considerations of length, but the articles and books selected represent the various debates within feminist educational research. They also show how research preoccupations have changed over the course of feminist work in education. The literature review is divided into three broad categories: Power, canons, and gender; feminist pedagogies, curriculums, and classrooms; and teacher education, identities, and knowledge. Each section provides a broad overview of the literature to demonstrate the breadth of work using feminist theory, with some examples more deeply explicated to describe how feminist theories inform the scholarship.

Power, Canons, and Gender

The literature in this category contests disciplinary practices that are androcentric in both content and form, while asserting the value of using feminist knowledge to construct knowledge. The majority of the work was written in the 1980s and supported the creation of feminist ways of knowing, particularly via the creation of women’s studies programs or courses in existing departments that centered female voices and experiences.

Questioning the canon has long been a focus of feminist scholarship, as has the attempt to subvert its power in the disciplines. Bezucha ( 1985 ) focused on the ways that departments of history resist the inclusion of both women and feminism in the historical canon. Similarly, Miller ( 1985 ) discussed feminism as subversion when seeking to expand the canon of French literature in higher education.

Lauter and Dieterich ( 1972 ) examined a report by ERIC, “Women’s Place in Academe,” a collection of articles about the discrepancies by gender in jobs and tenure-track positions and the lack of inclusion of women authors in literature classes. They also found that women were relegated to “softer” disciplines and that feminist knowledge was not acknowledged as valid work. Culley and Portuges ( 1985 ) expanded the focus beyond disciplines to the larger structures of higher education and noted the varies ways that professors subvert from within their disciplines. DuBois et al. ( 1985 ) chronicled the development of feminist scholarship in the disciplines of anthropology, education, history, literature, and philosophy. They explained that the institutions of higher education often prevent feminist scholars from working across disciplines in an attempt to keep them separate. Raymond ( 1985 ) also critiqued the academy for not encouraging relationships across disciplines and offered the development of women’s, gender, and feminist studies as one solution to greater interdisciplinary work.

Parson ( 2016 ) examined the ways that STEM syllabi reinforce gendered norms in higher education. She specifically looked at eight syllabi from math, chemistry, biology, physics, and geology classes to determine how modal verbs showing stance, pronouns, intertextuality, interdiscursivity, and gender showed power relations in higher education. She framed the study through poststructuralist feminist critical discourse analysis to uncover “the ways that gendered practices that favor men are represented and replicated in the syllabus” (p. 103). She found that all the syllabi positioned knowledge as something that is, rather than something that can be co-constructed. Additionally, the syllabi also favored individual and masculine notions of what it means to learn by stressing the competitive and difficult nature of the classroom and content.

When reading newer work on feminism in higher education and the construction of knowledge, it is easy to feel that, while the conversations might have shifted somewhat, the challenge of conducting interdisciplinary feminist work in institutions of higher education remains as present as it was during the creation of women’s and gender studies departments. The articles all point to the fact that simply including women’s and marginalized voices in the academy does not erase or mitigate the larger issues of gender discrimination and androcentricity within the silos of the academy.

Feminist Pedagogies, Curricula, and Classrooms

This category of literature has many similarities to the previous one, but all the works focus more specifically on questions of curriculum and pedagogy. A review of the literature shows that the earliest conversations were about the role of women in academia and knowledge construction, and this selection builds on that work to emphasize the ways that feminism can influence the events within classes and expands the focus to more levels of education.

Rich ( 1985 ) explained that curriculum in higher education courses needs to validate gender identities while resisting patriarchal canons. Maher ( 1985 ) narrowed the focus to a critique of the lecture as a pedagogical technique that reinforces androcentric ways of learning and knowing. She called for classes in higher education to be “collaborative, cooperative, and interactive” (p. 30), a cry that still echoes across many college campuses today, especially from students in large lecture-based courses. Maher and Tetreault ( 1994 ) provided a collection of essays that are rooted in feminist classroom practice and moved from the classroom into theoretical possibilities for feminist education. Warren ( 1998 ) recommended using Peggy McIntosh’s five phases of curriculum development ( 1990 ) and extending it to include feminist pedagogies that challenge patriarchal ways of teaching. Exploring the relational encounters that exist in feminist classrooms, Sánchez-Pardo ( 2017 ) discussed the ethics of pedagogy as a politics of visibility and investigated the ways that democratic classrooms relate to feminist classrooms.

While all of the previously cited literature is U.S.–based, the next two works focus on the ways that feminist pedagogies and curriculum operate in a European context. Weiner ( 1994 ) used autobiography and narrative methodologies to provide an introduction to how feminism has influenced educational research and pedagogy in Britain. Revelles-Benavente and Ramos ( 2017 ) collected a series of studies about how situated feminist knowledge challenges the problems of neoliberal education across Europe. These two, among many European feminist works, demonstrate the range of scholarship and show the trans-Atlantic links between how feminism has been received in educational settings. However, much more work needs to be done in looking at the broader global context, and particularly by feminist scholars who come from non-Western contexts.

The following literature moves us into P–12 classrooms. DiGiovanni and Liston ( 2005 ) called for a new research agenda in K–5 education that explores the hidden curriculums surrounding gender and gender identity. One source of the hidden curriculum is classroom literature, which both Davies ( 2003 ) and Vandergrift ( 1995 ) discussed in their works. Davies ( 2003 ) used feminist ethnography to understand how children who were exposed to feminist picture books talked about gender and gender roles. Vandergrift ( 1995 ) presented a theoretical piece that explored the ways picture books reinforce or resist canons. She laid out a future research agenda using reader response theory to better comprehend how young children question gender in literature. Willinsky ( 1987 ) explored the ways that dictionary definitions reinforced constructions of gender. He looked at the definitions of the words clitoris, penis , and vagina in six school dictionaries and then compared them with A Feminist Dictionary to see how the definitions varied across texts. He found a stark difference in the treatment of the words vagina and penis ; definitions of the word vagina were treated as medical or anatomical and devoid of sexuality, while definitions of the term penis were linked to sex (p. 151).

Weisner ( 2004 ) addressed middle school classrooms and highlighted the various ways her school discouraged unconventional and feminist ways of teaching. She also brought up issues of silence, on the part of both teachers and students, regarding sexuality. By including students in the curriculum planning process, Weisner provided more possibilities for challenging power in classrooms. Wallace ( 1999 ) returned to the realm of higher education and pushed literature professors to expand pedagogy to be about more than just the texts that are read. She challenged the metaphoric dichotomy of classrooms as places of love or battlefields; in doing so, she “advocate[d] active ignorance and attention to resistances” (p. 194) as a method of subverting transference from students to teachers.

The works discussed in this section cover topics ranging from the place of women in curriculum to the gendered encounters teachers and students have with curriculums and pedagogies. They offer current feminist scholars many directions for future research, particularly in the arena of P–12 education.

Teacher Education, Identities, and Knowledge

The third subset of literature examines the ways that teachers exist in classrooms and some possibilities for feminist teacher education. The majority of the literature in this section starts from the premise that the teachers are engaged in feminist projects. The selections concerning teacher education offer critiques of existing heteropatriarchal normative teacher education and include possibilities for weaving feminism and feminist pedagogies into the education of preservice teachers.

Holzman ( 1986 ) explored the role of multicultural teaching and how it can challenge systematic oppression; however, she complicated the process with her personal narrative of being a lesbian and working to find a place within the school for her sexual identity. She questioned how teachers can protect their identities while also engaging in the fight for justice and equity. Hoffman ( 1985 ) discussed the ways teacher power operates in the classroom and how to balance the personal and political while still engaging in disciplinary curriculums. She contended that teachers can work from personal knowledge and connect it to the larger curricular concerns of their discipline. Golden ( 1998 ) used teacher narratives to unpack how teachers can become radicalized in the higher education classroom when faced with unrelenting patriarchal and heteronormative messages.

Extending this work, Bailey ( 2001 ) discussed teachers as activists within the classroom. She focused on three aspects of teaching: integrity with regard to relationships, course content, and teaching strategies. She concluded that teachers cannot separate their values from their profession. Simon ( 2007 ) conducted a case study of a secondary teacher and communities of inquiry to see how they impacted her work in the classroom. The teacher, Laura, explicitly tied her inquiry activities to activist teacher education and critical pedagogy, “For this study, inquiry is fundamental to critical pedagogy, shaped by power and ideology, relationships within and outside of the classroom, as well as teachers’ and students’ autochthonous histories and epistemologies” (Simon, 2007 , p. 47). Laura’s experiences during her teacher education program continued during her years in the classroom, leading her to create a larger activism-oriented teacher organization.

Collecting educational autobiographies from 17 college-level feminist professors, Maher and Tetreault ( 1994 ) worried that educators often conflated “the experience and values of white middle-class women like ourselves for gendered universals” (p. 15). They complicated the idea of a democratic feminist teacher, raised issues regarding the problematic ways hegemonic feminism flattens experience to that of just white women, and pushed feminist professors to pay particular attention to the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality when teaching.

Cheira ( 2017 ) called for gender-conscious teaching and literature-based teaching to confront the gender stereotypes she encountered in Portuguese secondary schools. Papoulis and Smith ( 1992 ) conducted summer sessions where teachers experienced writing activities they could teach their students. Conceptualized as an experiential professional development course, the article revolved around an incident where the seminar was reading Emily Dickinson and the men in the course asked the two female instructors why they had to read feminist literature and the conversations that arose. The stories the women told tie into Papoulis and Smith’s call for teacher educators to interrogate their underlying beliefs and ideologies about gender, race, and class, so they are able to foster communities of study that can purposefully and consciously address feminist inquiry.

McWilliam ( 1994 ) collected stories of preservice teachers in Australia to understand how feminism can influence teacher education. She explored how textual practices affect how preservice teachers understand teaching and their role. Robertson ( 1994 ) tackled the issue of teacher education and challenged teachers to move beyond the two metaphors of banking and midwifery when discussing feminist ways of teaching. She called for teacher educators to use feminist pedagogies within schools of education so that preservice teachers experience a feminist education. Maher and Rathbone ( 1986 ) explored the scholarship on women’s and girls’ educational experiences and used their findings to call for changes in teacher education. They argued that schools reinforce the notion that female qualities are inferior due to androcentric curriculums and ways of showing knowledge. Justice-oriented teacher education is a more recent iteration of this debate, and Jones and Hughes ( 2016 ) called for community-based practices to expand the traditional definitions of schooling and education. They called for preservice teachers to be conversant with, and open to, feminist storylines that defy existing gendered, raced, and classed stereotypes.

Bieler ( 2010 ) drew on feminist and critical definitions of dialogue (e.g., those by Bakhtin, Freire, Ellsworth, hooks, and Burbules) to reframe mentoring discourse in university supervision and dialogic praxis. She concluded by calling on university supervisors to change their methods of working with preservice teachers to “Explicitly and transparently cultivat[e] dialogic praxis-oriented mentoring relationships so that the newest members of our field can ‘feel their own strength at last,’ as Homer’s Telemachus aspired to do” (Bieler, 2010 , p. 422).

Johnson ( 2004 ) also examined the role of teacher educators, but she focused on the bodies and sexualities of preservice teachers. She explored the dynamics of sexual tension in secondary classrooms, the role of the body in teaching, and concerns about clothing when teaching. She explicitly worked to resist and undermine Cartesian dualities and, instead, explored the erotic power of teaching and seducing students into a love of subject matter. “But empowered women threaten the patriarchal structure of this society. Therefore, women have been acculturated to distrust erotic power” (Johnson, 2004 , p. 7). Like Bieler ( 2010 ), Johnson ( 2004 ) concluded that, “Teacher educators could play a role in creating a space within the larger framework of teacher education discourse such that bodily knowledge is considered along with pedagogical and content knowledge as a necessary component of teacher training and professional development” (p. 24). The articles about teacher education all sought to provoke questions about how we engage in the preparation and continuing development of educators.

Teacher identity and teacher education constitute how teachers construct knowledge, as both students and teachers. The works in this section raise issues of what identities are “acceptable” in the classroom, ways teachers and teacher educators can disrupt oppressive storylines and practices, and the challenges of utilizing feminist pedagogies without falling into hegemonic feminist practices.

Possibilities for Feminist Qualitative Research

Spivak ( 2012 ) believed that “gender is our first instrument of abstraction” (p. 30) and is often overlooked in a desire to understand political, curricular, or cultural moments. More work needs to be done to center gender and intersecting identities in educational research. One way is by using feminist qualitative methods. Classrooms and educational systems need to be examined through their gendered components, and the ways students operate within and negotiate systems of power and oppression need to be explored. We need to see if and how teachers are actively challenging patriarchal and heteronormative curriculums and to learn new methods for engaging in affirmative sabotage (Spivak, 2014 ). Given the historical emphasis on higher education, more work is needed regarding P–12 education, because it is in P–12 classrooms that affirmative sabotage may be the most necessary to subvert systems of oppression.

In order to engage in affirmative sabotage, it is vital that qualitative researchers who wish to use feminist theory spend time grappling with the complexity and multiplicity of feminist theory. It is only by doing this thought work that researchers will be able to understand the ongoing debates within feminist theory and to use it in a way that leads to a more equitable and just world. Simply using feminist theory because it may be trendy ignores the very real political nature of feminist activism. Researchers need to consider which theories they draw on and why they use those theories in their projects. One way of doing this is to explicitly think with theory (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012 ) at all stages of the research project and to consider which voices are being heard and which are being silenced (Gilligan, 2011 ; Spivak, 1988 ) in educational research. More consideration also needs to be given to non-U.S. and non-Western feminist theories and research to expand our understanding of education and schooling.

Paying close attention to feminist debates about method and methodology provides another possibility for qualitative research. The very process of challenging positivist research methods opens up new spaces and places for feminist qualitative research in education. It also allows researchers room to explore subjectivities that are often marginalized. When researchers engage in the deeply reflexive work that feminist research requires, it leads to acts of affirmative sabotage within the academy. These discussions create the spaces that lead to new visions and new worlds. Spivak ( 2006 ) once declared, “I am helpless before the fact that all my essays these days seem to end with projects for future work” (p. 35), but this is precisely the beauty of feminist qualitative research. We are setting ourselves and other feminist researchers up for future work, future questions, and actively changing the nature of qualitative research.

Acknowledgements

Dr. George Noblit provided the author with the opportunity to think deeply about qualitative methods and to write this article, for which the author is extremely grateful. Dr. Lynda Stone and Dr. Tanya Shields are thanked for encouraging the author’s passion for feminist theory and for providing many hours of fruitful conversation and book lists. A final thank you is owed to the author’s partner, Ben Skelton, for hours of listening to her talk about feminist methods, for always being a first reader, and for taking care of their infant while the author finished writing this article.

• Abajian, S. M. (2016). Documenting militarism: Challenges of researching highly contested practices within urban schools. Anthropology & Education Quarterly , 47 (1), 25–41.
• Abajian, S. M. , and Guzman, M. (2013). Moving beyond slogans: Possibilities for a more connected and humanizing “counter-recruitment” pedagogy in militarized urban schools. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing , 29 (2), 191–205.
• Allen, P. G. (1984). Who is your mother? Red roots of white feminism. Sinister Wisdom , 25 (Winter), 34–46.
• American Association of University Women . (1992). How schools shortchange girls: The AAUW report: A study of major findings on girls and education . Washington, DC.
• AAUW . (1999). Gender gaps: Where schools still fail our children . New York, NY: Marlowe.
• Bailey, C. (2001). Teaching as activism and excuse: A reconsideration of the theory−practice dichotomy. Feminist Teacher , 13 (2), 125–133.
• Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
• Behar, R. , & Gordon, D. A. (Eds.). (1995). Women writing culture . Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Bezucha, R. J. (1985). Feminist pedagogy as a subversive activity. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 81–95). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Bieler, D. (2010). Dialogic praxis in teacher preparation: A discourse analysis of mentoring talk. English Education , 42 (4), 391–426.
• Brown, K. D. (2011). Elevating the role of race in ethnographic research: Navigating race relations in the field. Ethnography and Education , 6 (1), 97–111.
• Calderon, D. (2016). Moving from damage-centered research through unsettling reflexivity. Anthropology & Education Quarterly , 47 (1), 5–24.
• Ceglowski, D. , & Makovsky, T. (2012) Duoethnography with children. Ethnography and Education , 7 (3), 283–295.
• Cheira, A. (2017). (Fostering) princesses that can stand on their own two feet: Using wonder tale narratives to change teenage gendered stereotypes in Portuguese EFL classrooms. In B. Revelles-Benavente & A. M. Ramos (Eds.), Teaching gender: Feminist pedagogy and responsibility in times of political crisis (pp. 146–162). London, U.K.: Routledge.
• Clifford, J. , & Marcus, G. (Eds.). (1986). Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography . Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Coffey, A. , & Delamont, S. (2000). Feminism and the classroom teacher: Research, praxis, and pedagogy . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color . Stanford Law Review , 43 (6), 1241–1299.
• Culley, M. , & Portuges, C. (Eds.). (1985). Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching . Boston, MA: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• Davies, B. (2003). Frogs and snails and feminist tales: Preschool children and gender . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
• Davies, B. (2014). Listening to children: Being and becoming . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Davies, B. (2016). Emergent listening. In N. K. Denzin & M. D. Giardina (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry through a critical lens (pp. 73–84). New York, NY: Routledge.
• Davis, A. Y. (2016). Freedom is a constant struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the foundations of a movement . Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
• Denzin, N. K. , & Giardina, M. D. (Eds.). (2016). Qualitative inquiry through a critical lens . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Derrida, J. (2016). Of grammatology ( G. C. Spivak , Trans.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Digiovanni, L. W. , & Liston, D. D. (2005). Feminist pedagogy in the elementary classroom: An agenda for practice. Feminist Teacher , 15 (2), 123–131.
• Diller, A. , Houston, B. , Morgan, K. P. , & Ayim, M. (1996). The gender question in education: Theory, pedagogy, and politics . Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• DuBois, E. C. , Kelly, G. P. , Kennedy, E. L. , Korsmeyer, C. W. , & Robinson, L. S. (1985). Feminist scholarship: Kindling in the groves of the academe . Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
• Duncan-Andrade, J. M. , & Morrell, E. (2008). The art of critical pedagogy: Possibilities for moving from theory to practice in urban schools . New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Ellsworth, E. (1989). Why doesn’t this feel empowering? Working through the repressive myths of critical pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review , 59 (3), 297–324.
• Evans, B. , & Spivak, G. C. (2016, July 13). When law is not justice. New York Times (online).
• Gabriel, S. L. , & Smithson, I. (1990). Gender in the classroom: Power and pedagogy . Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
• Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Gilligan, C. (2011). Joining the resistance . Malden, MA: Polity Press.
• Golden, C. (1998). The radicalization of a teacher. In G. E. Cohee , E. Däumer , T. D. Kemp , P. M. Krebs , S. Lafky , & S. Runzo (Eds.), The feminist teacher anthology . New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Gottesman, I. H. (2016). The critical turn in education: From Marxist critique to poststructuralist feminism to critical theories of race . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Greene, M. (1994). Postmodernism and the crisis of representation. English Education , 26 (4), 206–219.
• Haddix, M. , McArthur, S. A. , Muhammad, G. E. , Price-Dennis, D. , & Sealey-Ruiz, Y. (2016). At the kitchen table: Black women English educators speaking our truths. English Education , 48 (4), 380–395.
• Hancock, E. (1989). The girl within . New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine.
• Haraway, D. (1988). Situated knowledges: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. Feminist Studies , 14 (3), 575–599.
• Harding, S. (1991). Whose science/Whose knowledge? Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Harding, S. (Ed.). (2004). The feminist standpoint theory reader . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Hesse-Biber, S. N. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Hill Collins, P. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Hoffman, N. J. (1985). Breaking silences: Life in the feminist classroom. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 147–154). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Holzman, L. (1986). What do teachers have to teach? Feminist Teacher , 2 (3), 23–24.
• Jackson, A. , & Mazzei, L. (2009). Voice in qualitative inquiry: Challenging conventional, interpretive, and critical conceptions in qualitative research . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Jackson, A. Y. , & Mazzei, L. A. (2012). Thinking with theory in qualitative research: Viewing data across multiple perspectives . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Jackson, C. , Paechter, C. , & Renold, E. (2010). Girls and education 3–16: Continuing concerns, new agendas . Maidenhead, U.K.: Open University Press.
• Johnson, T. S. (2004). “It’s pointless to deny that that dynamic is there”: Sexual tensions in secondary classrooms. English Education , 37 (1), 5–29.
• Jones, S. , & Hughes, H. E. (2016). Changing the place of teacher education: Feminism, fear, and pedagogical paradoxes . Harvard Educational Review , 86 (2), 161–182.
• Kerkhoff, S. N. (2015). Dialogism: Feminist revision of argumentative writing instruction . Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice , 64 (1), 443–460.
• Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2016). Reconceptualizing qualitiative research: Methodologies without methodology . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
• Koro-Ljungberg, M. , Löytönen, T. , & Tesar, M. (Eds.). (2017). Disrupting data in qualitative inquiry: Entanglements with the post-critical and post-anthropocentric . New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Kuby, C. R. , & Rucker, T. G. (2016). Go be a writer! Expanding the curricular boundaries of literacy learning with children . New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Lather, P. (1991). Feminist research in education: Within/against . Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press.
• Lauter, N. A. , & Dieterich, D. (1972). “Woman’s place in academe”: An ERIC Report. English Education , 3 (3), 169–173.
• Levinson, B. A. (1998). (How) can a man do feminist ethnography of education? Qualitative Inquiry , 4 (3), 337–368.
• Love, B. L. (2017). A ratchet lens: Black queer youth, agency, hip hop, and the Black ratchet imagination . Educational Researcher , 46 (9), 539–547.
• Low, S. M. , & Merry, S. E. (2010). Engaged anthropology: Diversity and dilemmas. Current Anthropology 51 (S2), S203–S226.
• Maher, F. (1985). Classroom pedagogy and the new scholarship on women. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 29–48). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Maher, F. A. , & Rathbone, C. H. (1986). Teacher education and feminist theory: Some implications for practice. American Journal of Education , 94 (2), 214–235.
• Maher, F. A. , & Tetreault, M. K. T. (1994). The feminist classroom: An inside look a how professors and students are transforming higher education for a diverse society . New York, NY: Basic Books.
• Martinez, D. C. (2016). “This ain’t the projects”: A researcher’s reflections on the local appropriateness of our research tools. Anthropology & Education Quarterly , 47 (1), 59–77.
• Mayberry, M. , & Rose, E. C. (1999). Meeting the challenge: Innovative feminist pedagogies in action . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Mazzei, L. A. (2007). Inhabited silence in qualitative research: Putting poststructural theory to work . New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Mazzei, L. A. (2013). A voice without organs: interviewing in posthumanist research . International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education , 26 (6), 732–740.
• McIntosh, P. (1990). Interactive phases of curricular and personal revision with regard to race . New York: State University of New York Press.
• McWilliam, E. (1994). In broken images: Feminist tales for a different teacher education . New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Miller, N. K. (1985). Mastery, identity and the politics of work: A feminist teacher in the graduate classroom. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 195–202). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Milner, H. R. (2007). Race, culture, and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen. Educational Researcher , 36 , 388–400.
• National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education . (2002). Title IX at thirty: Report card on gender equity .
• Orenstein, P. (1994). Schoolgirls: Young women, self-esteem, and the confidence gap . New York, NY: Anchor Books.
• Papoulis, I. , & Smith, C. A. (1992). Could Cherryl or Irene just take a few minutes to explain this feminist view of literature? English Education , 24 (1), 52–60.
• Parson, L. (2016). Are STEM syllabi gendered? A feminist critical discourse analysis. Qualitative Report , 21 (1), 102–116.
• Pipher, M. (1994). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls . New York, NY: Ballentine.
• Raymond, J. G. (1985). Women’s studies: A knowledge of one’s own. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 49–63). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Revelles-Benavente, B. , & Ramos, A. M. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching gender: Feminist pedagogy and responsiblity in times of political crisis . London, U.K.: Routledge.
• Rich, A. (1985). Taking women students seriously. In M. Culley & C. Portuges (Eds.), Gendered subjects: The dynamics of feminist teaching (pp. 21–28). Boston, MA: Routledge.
• Robertson, L. (1994). Feminist teacher education: Applying feminist pedagogies to the preparation of new teachers. Feminist Teacher , 8 (1), 11–15.
• Sadker, M. , & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How our schools cheat girls . New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
• Sánchez-Pardo, E. (2017). “It’s a hell of a responsibilty to be yourself”: Troubling the personal and the political in feminist pedagogy. In B. Revelles-Benavente & A. M. Ramos (Eds.), Teaching gender: Feminist pedagogy and responsibility in times of political crisis (pp. 64–80). London, U.K.: Routledge.
• Simon, L. (2007). Expanding literacies: Teachers’ inquiry research and multigenre texts. English Education , 39 (2), 146–176.
• Spivak, G. C. (1974). Translator’s preface. In J. Derrida Of grammatology ( G. C. Spivak , Trans.). (pp. ix–xc). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? Speculations on widow-sacrifice. Wedge , 7 (8), 120–130.
• Spivak, G. C. (2006). In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Spivak, G. C. (2009). Outside in the teaching machine . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Spivak, G. C. (2012). An aesthetic education in the era of globalization . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Spivak, G. C. (2014). Readings . New York, NY: Seagull Books.
• St. Pierre, E. A. (2000). Poststructural feminism in education: An overview . International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education , 13 (5), 477–515.
• St. Pierre, E. A. (2016). The long reach of logical positivism/logical empiricism. In N. K. Denzin & M. D. Giardina (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry through a critical lens (pp. 19–30). New York, NY: Routledge.
• St. Pierre, E. A. , & Pillow, W. S. (Eds.). (2000). Working the ruins: Feminist poststructural theory and methods in education . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Thayer-Bacon, B. J. , Stone, L. , & Sprecher, K. M. (2013). Education feminism: Classic and contemporary readings . Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Thompson, B. (2002). Multiracial feminism: Recasting the chronology of second wave feminism . Feminist Studies , 28 (2), 337–360.
• Vandergrift, K. E. (1995). Female protagonists and beyond: Picture books for future feminists. Feminist Teacher , 9 (2), 61–69.
• Wallace, M. L. (1999). Beyond love and battle: Practicing feminist pedagogy. Feminist Teacher , 12 (3), 184–197.
• Warren, K. J. (1998). Rewriting the future: The feminist challenge to the malestream curriculum. In G. E. Cohee , E. Däumer , T. D. Kemp , P. M. Krebs , S. Lafky , & S. Runzo (Eds.), The feminist teacher anthology . New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Weiner, G. (1994). Feminisms in education: An introduction . Buckingham, U.K.: Open University Press.
• Weisner, J. (2004). Awakening teacher voice and student voice: The development of a feminist pedagogy. Feminist Teacher , 15 (1), 34–47.
• Willinsky, J. (1987). Learning the language of difference: The dictionary in the high school. English Education , 19 (3), 146–158.
• Wissman, K. K. , Staples, J. M. , Vasudevan, L. , & Nichols, R. E. (2015). Cultivating research pedagogies with adolescents: Created spaces, engaged participation, and embodied inquiry. Anthropology & Education Quarterly , 46 (2), 186–197.
• Wolf, M. (1992). A thrice-told tale: Feminism, postmodernism, and ethnographic responsibility . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Related Articles

• Gender, Justice, and Equity in Education
• Education, Women, and the Politics of Curriculum
• Risky Truth-Making in Qualitative Inquiry
• Ecofeminism and Education
• Qualitative Approaches to Studying Marginalized Communities
• Poststructural Temporalities in School Ethnography
• Gender and Technology in Education
• Gender and the Superintendency
• Activism and Social Movement Building in Curriculum
• Gender Equitable Education and Technological Innovation

Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Education. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 26 August 2024

• Cookie Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notice
• Accessibility
• [81.177.182.154]
• 81.177.182.154

Character limit 500 /500

Not a member?

Find out what The Global Health Network can do for you. Register now.

Member Sites A network of members around the world. Join now.

• 1000 Challenge
• ODIN Wastewater Surveillance Project
• CEPI Technical Resources
• Global Health Research Management
• UK Overseas Territories Public Health Network
• Global Malaria Research
• Global Outbreaks Research
• Sub-Saharan Congenital Anomalies Network
• Global Pathogen Variants
• Global Health Data Science
• AI for Global Health Research
• MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL
• Virtual Biorepository
• Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
• Rapid Support Team
• The Global Health Network Africa
• The Global Health Network Asia
• The Global Health Network LAC
• Global Health Bioethics
• Global Pandemic Planning
• EPIDEMIC ETHICS
• Global Vector Hub
• Global Health Economics
• LactaHub – Breastfeeding Knowledge
• Global Birth Defects
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
• Human Infection Studies
• EDCTP Knowledge Hub
• CHAIN Network
• Brain Infections Global
• Research Capacity Network
• Global Research Nurses
• ZIKAlliance
• TDR Fellows
• Global Health Coordinators
• Global Health Laboratories
• Global Health Methodology Research
• Global Health Social Science
• Global Health Trials
• Zika Infection
• Global Musculoskeletal
• Global Pharmacovigilance
• Global Pregnancy CoLab
• INTERGROWTH-21ˢᵗ
• East African Consortium for Clinical Research
• Women in Global Health Research
• Coronavirus

Research Tools Resources designed to help you.

• Site Finder
• Process Map
• Global Health Training Centre
• Resources Gateway
• Global Health Research Process Map
• Social Sciences Sessions

Session 11: Using Gender Analysis within Qualitative Research

Gender analysis entails researchers seeking to understand gender power relations and norms and their implications, including the nature of women’s, men’s, and people of other gender’s lives, how their needs and experiences differ, the causes and consequences of these differences, and how services and polices might address these differences. As well as analysing differences between females, males, and people of other genders, gender analysis, by focusing on the nature of power relations, also considers differences among females, among males, and among people of other genders. It includes examining gender in relation to other social stratifiers, such as class, race, education, ethnicity, age, geographic location, (dis)ability, and sexuality, ideally from an intersectional perspective.

Incorporating gender analysis into research should ideally be done at all stages of the research process. It includes considering gender when defining research aims, objectives, or questions; within the development of study designs and data collection tools; during the process of data collection; and in the interpretation and dissemination of results. By including gender into research, researchers can ensure that gender inequities are not perpetuated, collect higher quality and more accurate data, and actively engage in positively changing gender relations and reducing inequities.

Overall, by the end of the session users should be able to:

• Understand what gender analysis is and why it is important for global health research
• Recognize different ways gender analysis can be incorporated into your health systems research, including research content, process, and outcomes
• Understand how gender frameworks can be used to guide analytical process

You can download the powerpoint here .

The information above is taken from the following resource: Morgan, R. et al., 2016. How to do (or not to do)… gender analysis in health systems research. Health Policy and Planning, p.czw037.

Recommended Resources Gender Analysis Hunt, J. (2004). Introduction to gender analysis concepts and steps . Development Bulletin, 64, 100–106. JHPIEGO. (2016). Gender Analysis Toolkit for Health Systems . LSTM. (1996). Guidelines for the analysis of Gender and Health . Morgan, R. et al., (2016). How to do (or not to do)… gender analysis in health systems research . Health Policy and Planning, 31: 1069–1078. RinGs (2016). How to do gender analysis in health systems research: a guide RinGs (2015) How to do gender analysis in health systems research webinar recording

Gender Frameworks Caro, D. (2009). A Manual for Integrating Gender Into Reproductive Health and HIV Programs. JHPIEGO. (2016). Gender Analysis Toolkit for Health Systems . March, C., Smyth, I., & Mukhopadhyay, M. (1999). A Guide to Gender-Analysis Frameworks . Oxfam. RinGs (2015) Ten Gender Analysis Frameworks & Tools to Aid with Health Systems Research Warren, H. (2007). Using gender-analysis frameworks: theoretical and practical reflections. Gender & Development , 15(2), 187–198.

Intersectionality Bowleg, L. (2012). The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality-an important theoretical framework for public health . American Journal of Public Health, 102(7), 1267–1273. Hankivsky, O. (2014). Intersectionality 101 . The Institute for Intersectionality Research & Policy, SFU. Larson, E., George, A., Morgan, R., & Poteat, T. (2016). 10 Best resources on... intersectionality with an emphasis on low- and middle-income countries . Health Policy Plan., czw020–. http://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czw020

We want these sessions to be useful and respond to users needs, so please contact us if you would like to see additional materials. We also have a dedicated page for users to share any thoughts or experiences of using these research approaches. You can also use these pages to ask questions or seek clarification.  Click here for discussions.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 22 October 2022

The impact of gender diversity on scientific research teams: a need to broaden and accelerate future research

• Hannah B. Love   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0011-1328 1 , 2 ,
• Alyssa Stephens 2 , 3 ,
• Bailey K. Fosdick   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3736-2219 2 ,
• Elizabeth Tofany 2 &
• Ellen R. Fisher   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6828-8600 1 , 2 , 4  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  9 , Article number:  386 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

7893 Accesses

8 Citations

3 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Business and management
• Complex networks
• Science, technology and society

Multiple studies from the literature suggest that a high proportion of women on scientific teams contributes to successful team collaboration, but how the proportion of women impacts team success and why this is the case, is not well understood. One perspective suggests that having a high proportion of women matters because women tend to have greater social sensitivity and promote even turn-taking in meetings. Other studies have found women are more likely to collaborate and are more democratic. Both explanations suggest that women team members fundamentally change team functioning through the way they interact. Yet, most previous studies of gender on scientific teams have relied heavily on bibliometric data, which focuses on the prevalence of women team members rather than how they act and interact throughout the scientific process. In this study, we explore gender diversity in scientific teams using various types of relational data to investigate how women impact team interactions. This study focuses on 12 interdisciplinary university scientific teams that were part of an institutional team science program from 2015 to 2020 aimed at cultivating, integrating, and translating scientific expertise. The program included multiple forms of evaluation, including participant observation, focus groups, interviews, and surveys at multiple time points. Using social network analysis, this article tested five hypotheses about the role of women on university-based scientific teams. The hypotheses were based on three premises previously established in the literature. Our analyses revealed that only one of the five hypotheses regarding gender roles on teams was supported by our data. These findings suggest that scientific teams may create ingroups , when an underrepresented identity is included instead of excluded in the outgroup , for women in academia. This finding does not align with the current paradigm and the research on the impact of gender diversity on teams. Future research to determine if high-functioning scientific teams disrupt rather than reproduce existing hierarchies and gendered patterns of interactions could create an opportunity to accelerate the advancement of knowledge while promoting a just and equitable culture and profession.

Similar content being viewed by others

Towards understanding the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful collaborations: a case-based team science study

Interpersonal relationships drive successful team science: an exemplary case-based study

The achievement of gender parity in a large astrophysics research centre

Introduction.

Diversity in scientific teams is often a catalyst for creativity and innovation (Misra et al., 2017 ; Smith-Doerr et al., 2017 ), and numerous studies have documented that gender diversity, the equitable representation of genders, is important for the development, process, and outcomes of scientific teams (Bear and Woolley, 2011 ; Hall et al., 2018 ; Misra et al., 2017 ; Riedl et al., 2021 ; Smith-Doerr et al., 2017 ; Woolley et al., 2010 ). Furthermore, research has found evidence that a higher proportion of women on a team increases collective intelligence (Riedl et al., 2021 ; Woolley et al., 2010 ), and that gender-balanced teams lead to the best outcomes for group process (Bear and Woolley, 2011 ; Carli, 2001 ; Taps and Martin, 1990 ). When scientists hear that the proportion of women influences team performance, they often ask “What proportion is needed, and why does the proportion of women impact team success?”

The answers to these questions remain unclear. To date, most research on the impact of gender composition on scientific teams only uses quantitative metrics (e.g., comparing team rosters and bibliometric data) (Badar et al., 2013 ; Lee, 2005 ; Lerback et al., 2020 ; Pezzoni et al., 2016 ; Wagner, 2016 ; Zeng et al., 2016 ). Although these quantitative metrics provide a reasonable starting point, they emphasize the presence of women rather than their levels of integration or participation, which may perpetuate tokenism on scientific teams. As Smith-Doerr et al. ( 2017 ), reported

Our journey through the literature demonstrated a critical difference between diversity as the simple presence of women and minority scientists on teams and in workplaces, and their full integration (p. 140).

Similarly, Bear and Woolley ( 2011 ) conducted a meta-analysis of the literature from multiple disciplines and found that when diverse team members were integrated holistically, team diversity contributed to innovation. Conversely, in studies where teams had diverse membership but failed, these teams were often relying on token members and did not have authentic and full integration of those diverse members. Bear and Woolley ( 2011 ) suggest that the proportion of women on a team roster should be studied as follows:

It is not enough to simply examine the number of women in a particular institution or role. … In order to be truly effective, the role that women play in scientific teams should also be taken into consideration and promoted in order to yield the substantial benefits of increased gender diversity (p. 151).

These recent studies signal a paradigm shift in literature in the perceptions of diversity on teams because historically, diversity on teams was perceived as negative. In 1997, Baugh and Graen ( 1997 ) described teams with women and minorities were perceived to be less effective. Benschop and Doorewaard ( 1998 ) described how teams simply (re)produce gender inequality and they did not see a future in teams providing opportunities for women. Guimerà et al. ( 2005 ) claimed that while diversity may potentially spur creativity, it typically promotes conflict and miscommunication. Today, it is well accepted in the literature that to create new knowledge and solve complex global problems, studies in the science of team science (SciTS), knowledge innovation, creative, and more have documented that diversity in teams is important for the process, interactions, and outcomes (Bear and Woolley, 2011 ; Hall et al., 2018 ; Misra et al., 2017 ; Riedl et al., 2021 ; Soler-Gallart, 2017 ; Ulibarri et al., 2019 ; Woolley et al., 2010 ).

Numerous researchers have called for varied approaches to the study of women on teams. Madlock-Brown and Eichmann ( 2016 ) wrote that we “need a multi-pronged approach to deal with the persisting gender gap issues” (p. 654). Bozeman et al. ( 2013 ), explained that we understand collaboration from a bibliometric standpoint, but much more qualitative research is needed about the meaning of collaboration and the more informal side of collaboration, including mentoring, ingrained biases, and balancing collaborations (Reardon, 2022 ). Further, many of these studies about women on teams were conducted with undergraduate students within curricular settings, not with real-world scientific teams. Fundamentally, to understand gender patterns in scientific collaborations, qualitative and mixed methods research approaches are needed that study the process of scientific team development and not just team outcomes (Keyton et al., 2008 ; Wooten et al., 2014 ).

This study focused on 12 interdisciplinary university scientific teams that were part of an institutional team science program from 2015 to 2020 aimed at cultivating, integrating, and translating scientific expertise. Team science is research conducted collaboratively by small teams or larger groups (Cooke and Hilton, 2015 ). The program included multiple forms of evaluation, including participant observation, focus groups, interviews, and surveys at multiple time points. More specifically, gender diversity was explored by using mixed-methods data from team interactions to investigate two primary research questions: (1) what is the role of women on scientific teams? and (2) how do women impact team interactions?

Members of the 12 teams completed social network surveys about their relationships including who they seek advice from, who is a mentor, who serves on student committees, who they learn from, and who they collaborate with. Social network analysis studies the behavior of the individual at the micro level, the pattern of relationships (network structure) at the macro level, and the interactions between the two (Stokman, 2001 ). In the context of team science, social network analysis provides insights into how interactions are related to team success and how the social processes teams use supports the knowledge-creation process (Cravens et al., 2022 ; Giuffre, 2013 ; Granovetter, 1977 ; Love et al., 2021 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). Utilizing these data, we calculated the indegree for each team member’s relationship with other team members. Indegree quantifies the number of other team members that stated they had the selected relationship with the given individual. For example, the advice indegree counts the number of other team members that reported receiving advice from that person. To compare results across the teams, the indegree and outdegree measures were scaled by the number of respondents to account for the total number of possible connections for individuals. These social network measures allowed us to test five hypotheses based on the current team science literature and other disciplines about how women impact team interaction and collaboration.

Hypothesis 1 : Women faculty will have a higher indegree than men faculty within the mentoring and student committee networks. Men faculty members will have a higher indegree than Women faculty members in the advice and leadership networks.

Hypothesis 2 : Men at all career stages will be more likely to be considered a leader on the team than women, measured by having a higher average scaled indegree in the leadership network.

Hypothesis 3 : Various networks will be correlated as follows:

Leadership and advice networks will be positively correlated.

Mentoring networks will not be positively correlated with leadership or advice networks.

Mentoring and student committees will be correlated.

Hypothesis 4 : The social and collaboration relations will be more positively correlated for women than for men.

Hypothesis 5 : Non-faculty team members will have more social connections on teams with a senior woman relative to those on teams without a senior woman.

These hypotheses are grounded in the literature on the persistent, latent, and subtle ways gender inequality is reproduced within organizations (Acker, 1992 ; Benschop and Doorewaard, 1998 ; Cole, 2004 ; Fraser, 1989 ; Gaughan and Bozeman, 2016 ; Madlock-Brown and Eichmann, 2016 ; Sprague and Smith, 1989 ). Many theories regarding the impact of gender diversity assume that teams reproduce socialized patterns of behavior. Zimmerman and West ( 1987 ) wrote that gender is not a biological concept, but it is a social construction that “involves a complex of socially guided perceptual, interactional, and micropolitical activities that cast particular pursuits as expressions of masculine and feminine ‘natures’” (West and Zimmerman, 1987 ). Gender is thus created by social organization and performed in our everyday lives and the ways we interact with one another (Butler, 1988 ). Gender, albeit a social construct, is an influential schema that impacts behaviors and interactions in society (West and Zimmerman, 1987 ).

According to Zimmerman and West ( 1987 ) and Butler ( 1988 ), the process of gender socialization includes ideas about who is a leader, how leaders should act, and even what leaders should look like. Many studies have found that women may not be perceived as leaders even when their status or contributions to the team are high (Bunderson, 2003 ; DiTomaso et al., 2007 ; Humbert & Guenther, 2017 ; Joshi, 2014 ). Other studies have found that men were more influential in groups, even when they were in the minority (Craig and Sherif, 1986 ), and that teams with women and minorities were perceived to be less effective (Baugh and Graen, 1997 ). Furthermore, although leadership responsibilities often become attached to specific roles, they can also be conferred and performed based on the perception of the individual qualities or capabilities of team members (Butler, 1988 ). For example, if a woman is a principal investigator (PI), a man on the team may also be considered a leader and vice-versa. These conferred roles may impact individual responsibilities and further solidify the perception of who is the team leader .

Perceptions about the roles of women and men can also impact the responsibilities they are assigned during meetings and the duties they are expected to perform in the workplace. In academia, faculty are frequently expected to engage in service work to support the university, the discipline, and the community. Service work may include mentoring, advising, and serving on committees. Recent studies suggest what has been long perceived within academia, that when controlling for rank, race/ethnicity, and discipline, women spend significantly more hours on service work when compared to their male colleagues, (Guarino and Borden, 2017 ; Misra et al., 2011 ; Urry, 2015 ). In STEM disciplines, women spend a higher percentage of their time on mentoring than their male counterparts (21% for women vs. 15% for men) (Misra et al., 2011 ). Researchers have not yet explored whether team science exacerbates or mitigates this disparity in service work.

Literature has documented that collaboration patterns are different for women and men. Women faculty and students participate in more interdisciplinary research in almost all fields at every career stage (Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007 ). In addition, women tend to have more collaborators than men (Bozeman and Gaughan, 2011 ), and studies have found that being well-connected correlates with success for women (Madlock-Brown and Eichmann, 2016 ). Is it possible that having a senior woman on the team creates a culture of collaboration, such that non-faculty, which might be traditionally marginalized on a team, are more well-connected? We evaluate this here by comparing the connectedness of non-faculty on teams with and without a senior woman.

In part, the lack of understanding about why gender diversity matters on scientific teams result from primarily studying member demographic profiles rather than studying how teams are functioning, including exchanges of knowledge, power dynamics, and the team development process which is critical to team success (Smith-Doerr et al., 2017 ). This study moves beyond team composition to expand and examine real-world scientific teams through analysis of relational data to answer the questions: What is the role of women on scientific teams; and How do women impact team interactions?

This study was conducted at a land grant, R1 University in the western region of the United States. The primary sample for this study was 12 self-formed, interdisciplinary scientific teams with varied research foci, who were participants in a competitive university-funded team science program from 2015 to 2020. To apply for funding, each team submitted a written application and competed in a pitch fest (a brief oral presentation of their proposed project) that was followed by an intensive question and answer session by the review team. The topics for the interdisciplinary teams that were selected were broadly defined across STEM-related fields. The teams were expected to contribute to high-level program goals, which included:

Increase university interest in multi-dimensional, systems-based problems

Leverage the strengths and expertise of a range of disciplines and fields

Shift the funding landscape towards investing in team science/collaborative endeavors

Develop large-scale proposals; high caliber research and scholarly outputs; new, productive, and impactful collaborations

These overarching goals were measured by having the teams report on a variety of outcome metrics, including publications, proposals submitted, and awards received.

Participation in the team science program occurred through two cohorts and lasted 24–30 months for each cohort. However, a team in the second cohort left the program after 12 months. During the program, teams met with administrative leadership, the team science research team, and some external partners every 3–4 months to provide progress updates on stated milestones and receive feedback and mentorship. Additional support was provided through individualized trainings/workshops approximately every few months throughout the program. These sessions provided additional instruction on team science principles, social network analysis interpretation, marketing/branding, diversity and inclusion, opportunity identification, philanthropic fundraising, technology transfer, visioning, and team management/leadership. Some of the training was attended by multiple teams, but often these were specifically designed for the needs and developmental stage of each team. An additional team volunteered to participate in the study but was not part of the formal program. This team, also self-formed, was an interdisciplinary team that had received a large award through a federal grant. The 13 teams were randomly assigned a number from 1 to 13 to maintain anonymity and are referred to in this study by their team number. Team 2 was excluded from the study altogether because two of the authors were members of this team.

Data collection

Multiple types of evaluation data, at multiple points in time, were collected throughout the university-based team science program including participant observation, focus groups, turn-taking data, rosters, interviews, and surveys. This study utilized the resulting data from rosters, participant observation, field notes, and responses to a social network survey. Data for this article is from social network surveys at the conclusion of the program or the closest associated data point. Selecting data from a similar timepoint follows the recommendations of Wooten et al. ( 2014 ) who differentiated between development, process, and outcome metrics for scientific teams.

Teams submitted rosters with demographic information including name, email, self-identified gender, title, college, department, and role on the team (i.e., PI, member, graduate students, etc.). Rosters were updated annually during the program and provided the data to define senior woman and junior faculty and other demographic categories.

Social network survey

Each team member on the roster was sent an email after the program end date and was asked to complete an online social network survey that had two sections: demographic and social network relational questions (see Appendix Table 2 ). Following IRB protocol #19-8622H, participation was voluntary, and all subjects were identified by name on the social network survey to allow for the complete construction of social networks. Names were deleted prior to data analysis and result reporting.

To ensure that respondents had the option to select a self-identified gender, the social network survey included a demographic question that asked participants to self-identify their gender by filling in a blank space rather than choosing from a prescribed drop-down list. This was the gender attribute used for analysis in this article. Two respondents did not answer the gender demographic survey question, and the roster data was used for these participants. There was no variability in the level of missingness across questions. Respondents either completed the survey or did not.

The network survey’s relational questions asked about the presence and absence of interactional mentoring, advice, leadership, and collaborative relationships with other members of the team. The first set of questions was developed by the research team primarily to collect information about scientific collaborations since joining the team. The survey asked, who have you:

talked about possible joint research/ideas/concepts/connections

worked on research, collaborations, tech projects, or consulting projects

worked on joint publications presentations, or conference proceeding

worked on or submitted a grant proposal; and sat on a student’s committee together (or is a member of your thesis/dissertation committee)

The second set of questions focused on social relationships within the team, including:

I learn from [ this person ]

I seek advice from [ this person ]

I hang out with [ this person ] for fun

[ this person ] is a leader on the team

[ this person ] is a mentor to me

[ this person ] is a friend

[ this person ] energizes me

Participant observation and field notes

A researcher attended two to six team meetings for each team to collect observational data. There were two exceptions to this as Team 1 did not have face-to-face team meetings, precluding participant observation; and Team 5 did not consent to observation at their meetings. After the meetings, the researcher recorded field notes to provide qualitative insights into the progress of the team development, their patterns of collaboration, and gender interactions as suggested by Marvasti ( 2004 ). The field notes supported the development of the senior women classification (see Appendix Table 1 for classification definitions). In addition to roster information, many teams had separate leadership teams that met and determined the scientific direction of the team. If a team had a woman on the leadership team, as recorded in field notes, then they received the designation of having a senior woman .

Statistical analysis

RStudio (R Studio Team, 2020 ) was used to analyze the social network data. The data were summarized using outdegree, indegree, and average degree. The outdegree of an individual is a measure of how many other team members they indicated receiving advice, mentorship, etc. from on the team. Alternatively, the indegree of an individual is a measure of how many other team members reported receiving advice, or mentorship, from that person. Average degree is the average number of immediate connections (i.e., indegree plus outdegree) for a person in a network (Giuffre, 2013 ; Hanneman and Riddle, 2005 ). To compare results across the teams, the indegree and outdegree measures were scaled by the number of respondents to account for the total number of possible connections for individuals (which is a function of both team size and response rate). The scaled indegree is thus the proportion of the team that named that team member for a given category. For example, if a team member has a scaled mentor indegree of 0.10, then 10% of the responding team members consider this individual to be a mentor. Confidence intervals for scaled indegrees were calculated using a t -distribution due to limited sample size.

The social relation question set responses were also analyzed separately and then combined for further statistical analysis. Three measures were created: collaboration, social, and professional support. To create the measure called collaboration , the following questions were combined: worked on research, collaborations, tech projects, or consulting projects; worked on joint publications presentations, or conference proceedings; worked on or submitted a grant proposal. To create the measure called social , the measures: I hang out with [this person] for fun and [this person] is a friend were combined. Finally, to create the measure called professional support , the measures: I seek advice from [this person], [this person] is a mentor to me, and sat on a student’s committee together (or is a member of your thesis/dissertation committee) were combined (see Appendix Table 2 for Terms and Associated Survey Questions).

In addition, data from the social network relational questions were used to construct multiple social network diagrams, wherein nodes represent the team members, and an edge exists from participant A to participant B if A perceived a relation with B. For example, in the mentorship network, a link from A to B signified that A considered B to be a mentor.

Field notes were analyzed using a constant comparative method (Mathison, 2013 ) to provide qualitative insights into the progress of overall and individual team development, patterns of collaboration, and gender interactions as suggested by Marvasti ( 2004 ).

Classifications

For analysis purposes, three classifications were created from the demographic data. Senior woman indicates there was a woman PI or a woman on the leadership team. Faculty was defined as an assistant, associate, and full professor. Non-faculty were defined as undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, research associates, community partners, and project managers. In the study, 78.5% of faculty, and 77.6% of non-faculty completed the survey (see Appendix Fig. 1 for more details on response rate and Appendix Table 1 for terms and definitions).

Demographic data

Over half of the 204 team members, 160 (78.2%), completed the survey. Out of 160 respondents, 84% of women and 73% of men completed the survey. Table 1 provides demographic data by team number. Team size ranged from a low of 6 and a high of 30 members and the average number of team members was 15. The university had seven colleges, and all teams had representation from three to seven colleges.

Hypotheses testing

Test results of the five study hypotheses are presented below.

Hypothesis 1 : Women faculty will have a higher indegree than men faculty within the mentoring and student committee networks, and men faculty members will have a higher indegree than women faculty members in the advice and leadership networks.

The first hypothesis was designed to investigate if women were perceived to be doing more service work and emotional labor (mentoring and student committee networks), and men were perceived as being leaders (leader and advice networks) (Guarino and Borden, 2017 ; Misra et al., 2011 ; Urry, 2015 ).

Figure 1 compares the average indegree values of men and women on each team in four social network diagrams (mentoring, student committees, leader, and advice). The data in Fig. 1 do not support the hypothesis that more team members went to women faculty for mentoring and for serving on student committees. Further, the data did not support that more team members went to men faculty for advice or reported viewing them as leaders.

These are plotted against one another, where the size of the dot reflects the number of team members that completed the survey. When the number of respondents is low (a small dot), the scaled indegree is expected to be more variable, whereas when the number of respondents is high (a large dot), the scaled indegree is expected to be less variable and more representative of the whole team’s perceptions. Each graph reports a different social network question (mentor, student committee, advice, and leader).

The Fig. 1 mentoring network does, however, illustrate that teams in the study either engaged or did not engage in mentoring. On teams where women had a high mentoring indegree, men also had a high indegree in the mentoring network. This indicates that mentoring was team-specific rather than gender-specific. This aligns with other studies about team processes that found team norms (like mentoring) impact the behaviors and processes of teams (Duhigg, 2016 ; Winter et al., 2012 ).

Hypothesis 2 : Men at all career stages are more likely to be considered a leader on the team than women, measured by having a higher average scaled indegree in the leadership network (Table 2 ).

Literature in business, political science, and sociology report that men are more likely to be perceived as leaders (Baugh and Graen, 1997 ; Bunderson, 2003 ; Craig and Sherif, 1986 ; DiTomaso et al., 2007 ; Humbert and Guenther, 2017 ; Joshi, 2014 ). Based on this, we hypothesized that these perceptions would also be present in scientific teams (Table 2 , Fig. 2 ). In the study, both men faculty and men non-faculty were more likely to be reported as a leader on the team; however, this finding was not statistically significant based on a 95% confidence interval (CI) (Table 2 ).

The values for men and women for each of the faculty types are plotted against one another. Faculty were more likely to be considered leaders than non-faculty, but there were no significant differences between reporting men or women as leaders on scientific teams.

Figure 2 illustrates the scaled indegree for women and men faculty and non-faculty, which shows faculty are more likely to be considered leaders than non-faculty. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in whether team members reported men or women as leaders on scientific teams.

Hypothesis 3 : Based on socialized gendered perceptions various networks will be correlated as follows:

The third hypothesis focused on whether gendered perceptions resulted in certain network diagrams being correlated. Previous studies have found that men are more likely to be perceived as leaders (Baugh and Graen, 1997 ; Bunderson, 2003 ; Butler, 1988 ; Craig and Sherif, 1986 ; DiTomaso et al., 2007 ; Humbert and Guenther, 2017 ; Joshi, 2014 ) and women are more likely to be perceived as mentors or caretakers (Guarino and Borden, 2017 ; Misra et al., 2011 ; Urry, 2015 ). These perceptions are sedimented in the language used to describe men and women (Sprague and Massoni, 2005 ).

We see the advice, leader, and mentor networks were highly correlated but only weakly correlated with the student committee network.

Based on this literature, we hypothesized that the leadership and advice networks would be correlated because both leading and giving advice suggest a greater power differential. Second, the mentoring network would not be correlated with leadership or advice networks because mentoring is more closely aligned with caregiving activities, which are considered more feminine. Third, the mentor and student committee networks would be correlated because these acts are associated with caretaking. Here, we tested if the networks related to leadership were correlated and if networks related to mentorship and service work such as serving on student committees were correlated.

Figure 3 illustrates the correlations for four of the network diagrams (mentoring, student committee, advice, and leadership) and reports the significance. The first gendered perception, that the leadership and advice networks would be correlated, was validated by the data. In the study, the leadership and advice networks were correlated (0.83). However, the hypothesis that the mentoring network would not be correlated with leadership (0.82) and advice (0.84) was not supported. These network diagrams were correlated, indicating team members who reported other team members as being leaders also reported that they received advice and mentoring from them. Finally, the hypothesis that mentoring and student committee diagrams would be correlated was also not validated by the data (0.32). One factor that could be contributing to these results comes from studies that show perceived organizational support, as well as perceived leader support, correlate with creativity and satisfaction in the workplace (Handley et al., 2015 ; Moss-Racusin et al., 2012 ; Smith et al., 2015 ). On the teams, members that are perceived as leaders are likely to provide support to others on the team. Notably, these studies did not explicitly examine gender in their findings.

A growing body of literature seeks to understand the connection between interpersonal relationships and knowledge innovation (Reference Blinded). We investigate this by considering how three types of interactions collaborative, social, and professional are intertwined on scientific teams. The purpose of this hypothesis was to closely examine the collaboration patterns of men and women and the connection between interpersonal relationships and knowledge creation. To create the measures in this hypothesis, social network survey questions were combined. For example, the measure social is a combination of: I hang out with [this person] for fun and [this person] is a friend (see the Analysis section for descriptions of all the measures).

To test what proportion of team members collaborate, given that they are also social with these individuals, we identified the team members that the person was social with and then calculated what proportion of those members they were also collaborating with. The results for this measure are given in Table 3 as proportion collaboration given social . Other items in Table 3 were developed in a similar manner.

Although our results indicate no statistical differences between men and women, we found that both men and women have intertwined relationships. If a team member is in one network (e.g., collaboration), it is likely that the person is also in another one of their networks (e.g., social). Furthermore, the overall proportion of men who have intertwined relationships in their collaboration, social, and professional support networks were higher in all proportions except proportion social given professional support (Table 3 ).

Numerous studies have attempted to tease apart gendered approaches to different collaboration styles and whether this has any impact on scientific collaborations (Bozeman et al., 2013 ; Madlock-Brown and Eichmann, 2016 ; Misra et al., 2017 ; Zeng et al., 2016 ). To build on this body of literature, this hypothesis tests the impact of senior women’s leadership, if any, on the collaborations of senior women and their impact on the network.

Figure 4 illustrates the scaled average indegree on the whole team when there are women in senior positions. A high average indegree for the team indicates that more team members and interacting and socializing on the team. The average scaled indegree on teams with a senior woman was 0.28 and without a senior woman was 0.20 ( t -test p  = 0.44; Cohen’s D effect size 0.51). The second graph in Fig. 4 illustrates the scaled average indegree on non-faculty when there are women in a senior positions. The average scaled indegree on teams with a senior woman was 0.27 and without a senior woman was 0.16 ( t -test p  = 0.42; Cohen’s D effect size 0.55). Thus, there was no evidence to conclude that senior women influenced the social interactions on the team.

These average scaled indegree measures were then separated based on whether there was a senior woman leader on the team, and the average across all teams was marked by a black horizontal bar. Based on these data, there appears to be no systematic difference in the social interactions of teams with a woman in a senior position and teams without a woman in a senior position. Average scaled indegree of non-faculty on teams without a senior woman = 0.16. Average scaled indegree of non-faculty on teams with a senior woman = 0.27. ( t -test) p -value = 0.42.

This study explored the impact of gender diversity on 12 scientific teams by analyzing team development and process data. It investigated two primary research questions: What is the role of women on scientific teams? and How do women impact team interactions? We initially believed that the primary reason previous research had been unable to adequately explain the role of women on scientific teams and how women impact team interactions were in part due to the lack of qualitative and mixed methods studies. We based our initial hypothesis on the assumption that scientific teams reproduce existing patterns of inequality (Butler, 1988 ; West and Zimmerman, 1987 ). However, it was through the development of the five hypotheses for this study and the subsequent analysis of relational data, that we learned that our assumption was in large part not supported.

Numerous studies have found evidence of systematic discrimination and bias in awarding grants (Ginther et al., 2011 ), acceptance of publications (Lerback et al., 2020 ; Salerno et al., 2019 ), language to describe women (Ross et al., 2017 ), promotion decisions (Régner et al., 2019 ), rewards (Mitchneck et al., 2016 ), and access to resources for research (Misra et al., 2017 ) in addition to other obstacles and forms of marginalization that are invisible and unacknowledged (Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007 ; Urry, 2015 ). Why did our data not replicate these findings? We conclude with the following possible explanations.

Preliminary studies in the SciTS literature have found that team science principles may simultaneously support the advancement of women in scientific fields; and complementarily, the inclusion of women on scientific teams may increase the success of these teams (McKean, 2016 ; Woolley et al., 2010 ). Further, including women and underrepresented populations on scientific teams has the potential to “serve as a strong entry point into scientific studies for women” (Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007 , p. 72). Similarly, in sociology, Soler-Gallart ( 2017 ) found positive benefits for the whole team when scientists engaged in dialogic relations and interaction with the intention of overcoming gender barriers and discrimination. Could team science advance women in their scientific careers? If high-functioning scientific teams disrupt rather than reproduce existing hierarchies and gendered patterns of interactions, it increases the possibility that team science is a tool not only for accelerating the creation of knowledge but for the advancement of a more empowered, just, and equitable profession.

Literature has documented how including historically underrepresented identities in the ingroup changes attitudes and behaviors (Soler-Gallart, 2017 ). Allport et al. ( 1954 ) found that when members of an ingroup were in close contact and built connections with members of an outgroup, prejudice decreased. Initially, the theory about ingroups and outgroups was devised to describe race and ethnic relations; however, recent studies have generalized the findings to other topics including gender bias and discrimination (Pettigrew and Tropp, 2006 ). Today, numerous studies have documented that intergroup contact and connections can improve intergroup attitudes (Allport et al., 1954 ; Brewer, 2007 ; Dovidio et al., 2012 ; Pettigrew and Tropp, 2006 ). Is it possible that scientific teams create ingroups that include rather than exclude women?

The teams in this study were not created nor did they develop in isolation. These teams had access to team development resources like SciTS literature, team science training, and access to administrative expertise and support. The promotion and tenure package of the selected university for this study allowed faculty to include interdisciplinary and team accomplishments. Structures were in place to fund, train, build, and reward these teams. Many of these resources, interventions and structures were designed and led by a group of nine women and one man. The women, especially, emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion from team formation to building and rewarding successes. In addition, many of the sessions were customized to meet the needs of individual teams. Did these facilitators create an ingroup ? Although we did not test the impact of these interventions and structures, other studies have previously hypothesized that modifying existing and often outmoded structures will positively impact outcomes for women (Gibbons et al., 1994 ; Hansson, 1999 ; Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007 ). Another study found that when team members participate in dialog relations and interactions instead of using prestige to gain power they were more willing to rethink concepts when presented with new information (Soler-Gallart, 2017 ). Specifically, in terms of women in science, Rolison ( 2000 , 2004 ) developed a hypothesis recommending explicitly applying Title IX principles to support women in academia. She posited that providing equal funding opportunities and resources for women would result in equal opportunities for success. Another study attributed the key to their team’s success was the inclusion of women, the community, and other diverse perspectives from the community (Soler-Gallart, 2017 ). Our findings suggest that the handful of women on our teams may have joined the ingroup in academia albeit if only for a short time.

It is important to note that we do not believe our results accurately reflect the university of study as a whole or academia in general. Team observations and resulting field notes documented numerous accounts of gender inequality and inequity where women were disempowered and had limited opportunities to contribute to the team. Moreover, we are confident that women on these teams have had individual experiences that would contradict our findings. A lack of evidence does not indicate that there is equality. Nevertheless, these results do suggest that scientific teams, developed with intention, may provide greater opportunities for women to amplify their contributions to science (McKean, 2016 ; Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007 ; Woolley et al., 2010 ).

Limitations

Previous studies on gender and scientific teams have used bibliometric data to understand patterns of collaboration. Other studies on teams have created teams in the lab using students and other volunteers. Although this study is unique and contributes to the literature, as the data are based on real-world scientific teams, we identified six limitations.

First, several teams had apprehension about participating in SciTS research, and one team left the program after year one resulting in limited data from those teams. Second, teams may have experienced the so-called Hawthorne effect (K. Baxter et al., 2015 ) and performed differently because they were part of a research study, and a researcher regularly attended team meetings. All participant observations related to the positionality of the researcher were well-documented in field notes (P. Baxter and Jack, 2008 ; Greenwood, 1993 ; Marvasti, 2004 ).

Third, we defined senior women in a manner that would be inclusive to women with and without formal titles. The senior woman designation was given based on both formal titles and field notes. Some of the teams in our study had women who were the PI or in a designated leadership position with formal titles, and other teams had women on the leadership team. It is possible that the women on these teams were seen as leaders because of their position on the team, but that their leadership came without titles, awards, and recognition that might have been associated with those titles.

Fourth, it is possible that study participants had varying definitions of mentor , advice , and leader . We anticipated different interpretations in our study plan and as a result combined data in hypothesis four to detect and account for potential differences in definitions. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that lived experiences, in general, give individuals different perspectives. Literature in political science has found that when people imagine a leader , many of the traits are more masculine (e.g., wearing a suit, being tall and bigger) (Butler, 1988 ). Fifth, we did not measure the success of the teams in this study; thus, we were unable to translate how different interaction patterns translated into team performance. Ongoing funding was, however, contingent on performance as measured by pre-determined metrics including numbers of grants, publications, invention patents, and other markers of success.

Finally, a limitation of all social network studies is that data are collected at a single point in time. Thus, temporal changes in team interactions cannot be accounted for in our sample. For example, we cannot discern whether social relationships or scientific collaborations came first. We only know that they were both happening at the time the survey was administered. Further, at the time the survey was completed, it is possible that a person had not yet established a relationship, or they had forgotten about a previous relationship.

Conclusion, recommendations, and future research

We offer three key recommendations for future research. First, scientific results that are statistically insignificant are rarely shared in the literature. Therefore, it is critical that all efforts to expand research be published to broaden and accelerate the understanding of the role of women in scientific teams (Bammer et al., 2020 ; Oliver and Boaz, 2019 ).

Second, the landscape of science is changing rapidly as a result of private and federal funders requiring the inclusion of the science of team science experts as PIs in grant applications. We recommend that researchers expand their focus and examine how scientific teams change the culture of science. Research questions might include: How do support diverse teams translate to culture changes in science and the academy? Do scientific interdisciplinary teams provide more access for historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups? Finally, to create a comprehensive understanding of elements that contribute to expertise in scientific teams, we recommend that research be conducted with a theoretical focus on team development and processes. This would include studies that explore science facilitation, learning-by-doing, and other tacit forms of expertise that lead to integration and implementation of knowledge (rather than a focus on recruitment and demographics).

Third, existing studies define gender as a binary (man/woman). This short-sighted perspective is no longer relevant in society. Gender is not a biological concept, but a social construct, “It involves a complex of socially guided perceptual, interactional, and micropolitical activities that cast particular pursuits as expressions of masculine and feminine ‘natures.’” (West and Zimmerman, 1987 , p. 125). Gender is thus created by the social organization of our everyday lives and the way we interact with one another. People often see this difference as natural , and society is structured as a response to these differences in terms of men and women. Because of this, researchers like us continue to expend time and resources asking research questions rooted in binary gender. Future research should broaden definitions of diversity and gender including non-binary definitions of gender, expand how we measure inclusivity, explore how power imbalances block expertise, and study how a balance of power promotes expertise.

In conclusion, the lack of evidence for gender impacting team roles and behaviors in our study aligns with other SciTS studies that found team composition is not the silver bullet that automatically leads to knowledge creation and innovation (Duhigg, 2016 ; Oliver and Boaz, 2019 ). Numerous SciTS studies have documented the importance of processes over team composition and relationships to build successful teams (Boix Mansilla et al., 2016 ; Gaughan and Bozeman, 2016 ; Hall et al., 2018 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). Perhaps the reason scientific teams produce more citations and have a greater impact than siloed investigators (Wuchty et al., 2007 ) is that they are leveraging the available expertise through the authentic integration of all members.

In the future, when scientists ask, “What proportion of women is ideal on a team?” consider responding with “It is not about the number of women, but rather how women on teams are integrated and empowered.”

Data availability

Data are available upon request to protect the privacy of our study participants. Parts of the larger data set have been made publicly available via the following links: https://doi.org/10.25675/10217/214187 and https://hdl.handle.net/10217/194364 .

Acker J (1992) Gendering organizational theory. Gendering Organ Anal 6(2):248–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124390004002002

Article   Google Scholar  

Allport G, Clark K, Pettigrew T (1954) The nature of prejudice. http://althaschool.org/_cache/files/7/1/71f96bdb-d4c3-4514-bae2-9bf809ba9edc/97F5FE75CF9A120E7DC108EB1B0FF5EC.holocaust-the-nature-of-prejudice.doc

Badar K, Hite JM, Badir YF (2013) Examining the relationship of co-authorship network centrality and gender on academic research performance: the case of chemistry researchers in Pakistan. Scientometrics 94(2):755–775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-012-0764-z

Bammer G, O’Rourke M, O’Connell D, Neuhauser L, Midgley G, Klein JT, Grigg NJ, Gadlin H, Elsum IR, Bursztyn M, Fulton EA, Pohl C, Smithson M, Vilsmaier U, Bergmann M, Jaeger J, Merkx F, Vienni Baptista B, Burgman MA, … Richardson GP (2020) Expertise in research integration and implementation for tackling complex problems: when is it needed, where can it be found and how can it be strengthened? Palgrave Commun 6(1) https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0380-0

Baugh SG, Graen GB (1997) Effects of team gender and racial composition on perceptions of team performance in cross-functional teams. Group Organ Manag 22(3):366–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601197223004

Baxter K, Courage C, Caine K (2015) Understanding your users: a practical guide to user research methods. In: Understanding your users. Second edition. Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier, Amsterdam

Baxter P, Jack S (2008) The qualitative report qualitative case study methodology: study design and implementation for novice researchers. Qual Reportual Rep 13(2):544–559. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol13/iss4/2

Google Scholar  

Bear JB, Woolley AW (2011) The role of gender in team collaboration and performance. Interdiscip Sci Rev 36(2):146–153. https://doi.org/10.1179/030801811X13013181961473

Benschop Y, Doorewaard H (1998) Six of one and half a dozen of the other: the gender subtext of taylorism and team-based work. Gend Work Organ 5(1):5–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0432.00042

Boix Mansilla V, Lamont M, Sato K (2016) Shared cognitive emotional interactional platforms: markers and conditions for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Sci Technol Hum Values 41(4):571–612. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243915614103

Bozeman B, Fay D, Slade CP (2013) Research collaboration in universities and academic entrepreneurship: the-state-of-the-art. J Technol Transf 38(1):1–67 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-012-9281-8

Bozeman B, Gaughan M (2011) How do men and women differ in research collaborations? An analysis of the collaborative motives and strategies of academic researchers. Res Policy 40(10):1393–1402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.07.002

Brewer MB (2007) The social psychology of intergroup relations: social categorization, ingroup bias and outgroup prejudice. In Kruglanski, AW & Higgins, ET (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles. The Guilford Press. pp. 695–715

Bunderson JS (2003) Recognizing and utilizing expertise in work groups: a status characteristics perspective. Adm Sci Q 48(4) https://doi.org/10.2307/3556637

Butler J (1988) Performative acts and gender constitution: an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatr J 40(4):519. https://doi.org/10.2307/3207893

Carli L (2001) Gender and social influence. J Soc Issues 57(4):725–741. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00238

Cole S (2004) Merton’s contribution to the sociology of science. Soc Stud Sci 34(6):829–844. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312704048600

Cooke NJ, Hilton ML (2015) Enhancing the effectiveness of team science. National Academies Press

Craig JM, Sherif CW (1986) The effectiveness of men and women in problem-solving groups as a function of group gender composition. Sex Roles 14(7–8):453–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288427

Cravens AE, Jones MS, Ngai C, Zarestky J, Love HB (2022) Science facilitation: navigating the intersection of intellectual and interpersonal expertise in scientific collaboration Humanit Soc Sci Commun 9(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01217-1

DiTomaso N, Post C, Smith DR, Farris GF, Cordero R (2007) Effects of structural position on allocation and evaluation decisions for scientists and engineers in industrial R&D. Adm Sci Q 52(2):175–207. https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.52.2.175

Dovidio JF, Gaertner SL, Kawakami K (2012) Intergroup contact: the past, present, and the future. Journals.Sagepub.Com 6(1):5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430203006001009

Duhigg C (2016) What google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. N Y Times https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

Fraser N (1989) Unruly practices: power, discourse, and gender in contemporary social theory. In: Feminist review, vol 40(10). University of Minnesota Press, pp. 107–108

Gaughan M, Bozeman B (2016) Using the prisms of gender and rank to interpret research collaboration power dynamics. Soc Stud Sci 46(4):536–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312716652249

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Gibbons M, Limoges C, Nowotny H, Schwartzman S (1994) The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. In CI, Sage Publications, London. pp. ix+179

Ginther DK, Schaffer WT, Schnell J, Masimore B, Liu F, Haak LL, Kington R (2011) Race, ethnicity, and NIH research awards. Science 333(6045):1015–1019. https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.1196783/SUPPL_FILE/GINTHER_SOM.PDF

Article   ADS   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Giuffre K (2013) Communities and networks: using social network analysis to rethink urban and community studies, 1st ed. Polity Press.

Granovetter MS (1973) The strength of weak ties. Am J Sociol 78(6):1360–1380

Greenwood RE (1993) The case study approach. Bus Commun Q 56(4):46–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056999305600409

Guarino CM, Borden VMH (2017) Faculty service loads and gender: are women taking care of the academic family. Res High Educ 58(6):672–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-017-9454-2

Guimerà R, Uzzi B, Spiro J, Nunes Amaral LA, Amaral LAN, Nunes Amaral LA, Guimera R, Brian U, Spiro J, Amaral LAN, Guimerà R, Uzzi B, Spiro J, Nunes Amaral LA (2005) Sociology: team assembly mechanisms determine collaboration network structure and team performance. Science 308(5722):697–702. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1106340

Hall KL, Vogel AL, Huang GC, Serrano KJ, Rice EL, Tsakraklides SP, Fiore SM (2018) The science of team science: a review of the empirical evidence and research gaps on collaboration in science. Am Psychol 73(4):532–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000319

Handley IM, Brown ER, Moss-Racusin CA, Smith JL (2015) Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 112(43):13201–13206. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510649112

Hanneman R, Riddle M (2005) Introduction to social network methods. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Hanneman/publication/235737492_Introduction_to_social_network_methods/links/0deec52261e1577e6c000000.pdf

Hansson B (1999) Interdisciplinarity: for what purpose? Policy Sci 32(4):339–343. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004718320735

Humbert AL, Guenther EA (2017) D3.1 The gender diversity index, preliminary considerations and results. March 1–31. https://doi.org/10.17862/cranfield.rd.5110978.v1

Joshi A (2014) By Whom and when is women’s expertise recognized? The interactive effects of gender and education in science and engineering teams. Adm Sci Q 59(2):202–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839214528331

Keyton J, Ford DJ, Smith FL (2008) A mesolevel communicative model of collaboration. Commun Theory 18(3):376–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2008.00327.x

Lee S (2005) The impact of research collaboration on scientific productivity. Soc Stud Sci 35(5):673–702. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312705052359

Lerback JC, Hanson B, Wooden P (2020) Association between author diversity and acceptance rates and citations in peer-reviewed earth science manuscripts. Earth Space Sci 7(5) https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000946

Love HB, Cross JE, Fosdick B, Crooks KR, VandeWoude S, Fisher ER (2021) Interpersonal relationships drive successful team science: an exemplary case-based study. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 8(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00789-8

Madlock-Brown C, Eichmann D (2016) The scientometrics of successful women in science. In: Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE/ACM international conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining, ASONAM 2016. pp. 654–660. https://doi.org/10.1109/ASONAM.2016.7752307 .

Marvasti AB (2004) Qualitative research in sociology: an introduction. SAGE Publications.

Mathison S (2013) Constant comparative method. In: Encyclopedia of evaluation. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://colostate.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9781452261447&context=PC&vid=01COLSU_INST:01COLSU&lang=en&search_scope=MyCampus_FC_CI_PU_P&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everyth

McKean V (2016). Evidence-based organizational change to support women’s careers in research. Science of Team Science (SciTS). https://sts.memberclicks.net/assets/2016_Conference_Images/scits 2016 conference program final 05may2016.pdf

Misra J, Lundquist JH, Holmes E, Agiomavritis S (2011) The ivory ceiling of service work. Academe 97(1):22–26. https://www.aaup.org/article/ivory-ceiling-service-work?wbc_purpose=basic&WBCMODE=presentationunpublished#.YSjyXo5KhPY

Misra J, Smith-Doerr L, Dasgupta N, Weaver G, Normanly J (2017) Collaboration and gender equity among academic scientists. Soc Sci 6(1):25. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6010025

Mitchneck B, Smith JL, Latimer M (2016) A recipe for change: Creating a more inclusive academy. Science 352(6282):148–149. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad8493

Article   ADS   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Moss-Racusin CA, Dovidio JF, Brescoll VL, Graham MJ, Handelsman J (2012) Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(41):16474–16479. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211286109

Article   ADS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Oliver K, Boaz A (2019) Transforming evidence for policy and practice: creating space for new conversations. Palgrave Commun 5(1), 1–10

Pettigrew TF, Tropp LR (2006) A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. J Pers Soc Psychol 90(5):751–783. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751

Pezzoni M, Mairesse J, Stephan P, Lane J (2016) Gender and the publication output of graduate students: a case study. PLoS ONE 11(1):e0145146. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145146

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

R Studio Team (2020). RStudio: integrated development for R. RStudio, PBC

Reardon S (2022) Scientific collaborations are precarious territory for women. Nature 605(7908):179–181. https://doi.org/10.1038/D41586-022-01204-1

Régner I, Thinus-Blanc C, Netter A, Schmader T, Huguet P (2019) Committees with implicit biases promote fewer women when they do not believe gender bias exists Nat Hum Behav 3(11):1171–1179. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0686-3

Rhoten D, Pfirman S (2007) Women in interdisciplinary science: exploring preferences and consequences. Res Policy 36(1):56–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2006.08.001

Riedl C, Kim YJ, Gupta P, Malone TW, Woolley AW (2021) Quantifying collective intelligence in human groups. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118(21) https://doi.org/10.1073/PNAS.2005737118

Rolison DR (2000) Title IX for women in academic chemistry: isn’t a millennium of affirmative action for white men sufficient? Women in the chemical workforce— NCBI Bookshelf. National Research Council (US) Chemical Sciences Roundtable. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44858/

Rolison DR (2004) Women, work and the academy: strategies for responding to “post-civil rights era” gender discriminiation. The Barnard Center for Research on Women. http://www.barnard.edu/bcrw/womenandwork/rolison.htm

Ross DA, Boatright D, Nunez-Smith M, Jordan A, Chekroud A, Moore EZ (2017) Differences in words used to describe racial and gender groups in Medical Student Performance Evaluations. PLoS ONE 12(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181659

Salerno PE, Páez-Vacas M, Guayasamin JM, Stynoski JL (2019) Male principal investigators (almost) don’t publish with women in ecology and zoology. PLoS ONE 14(6):e0218598. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0218598

Smith-Doerr L, Alegria S, Sacco T (2017) How diversity matters in the US science and engineering workforce: a critical review considering integration in teams, fields, and organizational contexts. Engag Sci Technol Society 3:139. https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2017.142

Smith JL, Handley IM, Zale AV, Rushing S, Potvin MA (2015) Now hiring! Empirically testing a three-step intervention to increase faculty gender diversity in STEM. In: BioScience, vol. 65(11). Oxford Academic, pp. 1084–1087. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv138

Soler-Gallart M (2017) Achieving social impact sociology in the public sphere. Springer.

Sprague J, Massoni K (2005) Student evaluations and gendered expectations: What we can’t count can hurt us. Sex Roles 53(11–12):779–793 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-8292-4

Sprague J, Smith DE (1989) The everyday world as problematic: a feminist sociology. Contemp Sociol 18(4) https://doi.org/10.2307/2073155

Stokman FN (2001) Networks: social. In: Smelser NJ, Baltes PB (eds) International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. Pergamon, pp. 10509–10514 https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/01934-3

Taps J, Martin PY (1990) Gender composition, attributional accounts, and women’s influence and likability in task groups. Small Group Res 21(4):471–491. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496490214003

Ulibarri N, Cravens A, Kernbach S, Nabergoj A, Royalty A (2019) Creativity in Research. Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–317

Urry M (2015) Science and gender: scientists must work harder on equality Nature 528(7583):471–473. https://doi.org/10.1038/528471a

Wagner C (2016) Rosalind’s ghost: biology, collaboration, and the female. PLoS Biol 14(11):e2001003. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001003

West C, Zimmerman DH (1987) Doing gender. Gend Soc 1(2):125–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243287001002002

Winter F, Rauhut H, Helbing D (2012) How norms can generate conflict: an experiment on the failure of cooperative micro-motives on the macro-level. Soc Forces 90(3):919–948. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sor028

Woolley AW, Chabris CF, Pentland A, Hashmi N, Malone TW (2010) Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science 330(6004):686–688. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1193147

Wooten KC, Rose RM, Ostir GV, Calhoun WJ, Ameredes BT, Brasier AR (2014) Assessing and evaluating multidisciplinary translational teams: a mixed methods approach. Eval Health Prof 37(1):33–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278713504433

Wuchty S, Jones BF, Uzzi B (2007) The increasing dominance of teams in production of knowledge. Science 316(5827):1036–1039. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1136099

Zeng XHT, Duch J, Sales-Pardo M, Moreira JAGG, Radicchi F, Ribeiro HV, Woodruff TK, Amaral LANN (2016) Differences in collaboration patterns across discipline, career stage, and gender. PLoS Biol 14(11):e1002573. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002573

Zhang HH, Ding C, Schutte NS, Li R (2020) How team emotional intelligence connects to task performance: a network approach. Small Group Res 51(4):492–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496419889660

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Jeni Cross, the Department of Sociology, and the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRISS) at Colorado State University for helpful discussions and preliminary data collection. We also thank Professor Sue VandeWoude, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, for helpful discussions and support. The research reported in this publication was supported by Colorado State University’s Office of the Vice President for Research Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships Program. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of the Vice President for Research. Additional funding and support were provided by grants from the National Science Foundation’s Ecology of Infectious Diseases Program (NSF EF-0723676 and NSF EF-1413925).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Divergent Science LLC, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Hannah B. Love & Ellen R. Fisher

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Hannah B. Love, Alyssa Stephens, Bailey K. Fosdick, Elizabeth Tofany & Ellen R. Fisher

Cactus Consulting LLC, Denver, CO, USA

Alyssa Stephens

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Ellen R. Fisher

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hannah B. Love .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

We confirm that we have complied with the American Psychological Association’s ethical standards in the treatment of their participants. All data collection methods were performed with the informed consent of the participants and followed Institutional Review Board protocol #19-8622H.

Informed consent

Following IRB protocol #19-8622H, participation was voluntary, and all subjects provided informed consent.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary tables, appendix figure 1: social network survey, appendix figure 2: response rate for women and men faculty and nonfaculty, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Love, H.B., Stephens, A., Fosdick, B.K. et al. The impact of gender diversity on scientific research teams: a need to broaden and accelerate future research. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 9 , 386 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01389-w

Download citation

Received : 02 June 2022

Accepted : 29 September 2022

Published : 22 October 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01389-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• Search Menu

Sign in through your institution

• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical Numismatics
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Social History
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Emotions
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Language Acquisition
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Culture
• Music and Media
• Music and Religion
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Society
• Law and Politics
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Legal System - Costs and Funding
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Restitution
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Oncology
• Medical Toxicology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Medical Ethics
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Games
• Computer Security
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business History
• Business Ethics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Technology
• Business and Government
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Social Issues in Business and Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic Methodology
• Economic History
• Economic Systems
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Social Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Sustainability
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• Ethnic Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Theory
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Politics and Law
• Politics of Development
• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Qualitative Political Methodology
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Disability Studies
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

A newer edition of this book is available.

• < Previous chapter
• Next chapter >

8 Feminist Qualitative Research: Toward Transformation of Science and Society

Maureen C. McHugh, Department of Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• Published: 04 August 2014
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

Feminist research is described in terms of its purposes of knowledge about women’s lives, advocacy for women, analysis of gender oppression, and transformation of society. Feminist critiques of social science research are reviewed in relation to the development of methodological and epistemological positions. Feminist research is viewed as contributing to the transformation of science from empiricism to postmodernism. Reflexivity, collaboration, power analysis, and advocacy are discussed as common practices of feminist qualitative research. Several qualitative approaches to research are described in relation to feminist research goals, with illustrations of feminist research included. Validity and voice are identified as particular challenges in the conduct of feminist qualitative research. Intersectionality and double consciousness are reviewed as feminist contributions to transformation of science. Some emerging and innovative forms of feminist qualitative research are highlighted in relation to potential future directions.

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code
• Add your ORCID iD

Institutional access

Sign in with a library card.

• Sign in with username/password
• Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

• Open access
• Published: 01 November 2022

A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal

• Pranab Dahal 1 ,
• Sunil Kumar Joshi 2 &
• Katarina Swahnberg 1  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  2005 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

88k Accesses

25 Citations

Metrics details

Gender inequality and violence are not mutually exclusive phenomena but complex loops affecting each other. Women in Nepal face several inequalities and violence. The causes are diverse, but most of these results are due to socially assigned lower positioning of women. The hierarchies based on power make women face subordination and violence in Nepal. The study aims to explore participants' understanding and experience to identify the status of inequality for women and how violence emerges as one of its consequences. Furthermore, it explores the causes of sex trafficking as an example of an outcome of inequality and violence.

The study formulated separate male and female groups using a purposive sampling method. The study used a multistage focus group discussion, where the same groups met at different intervals. Six focus group discussions, three times each with male and female groups, were conducted in a year. Thirty-six individuals, including sixteen males and twenty females, were involved in the discussions. The study used constructivist grounded theory for the data analysis.

The study participants identify that a power play between men and women reinforce inequality and increases the likelihood of violence for women. The findings suggest that the subjugation of women occurs due to practices based on gender differences, constricted life opportunities, and internalization of constructed differences among women. The study identifies that interpersonal and socio-cultural violence can result due to established differences between men and women. Sex trafficking, as an example of the outcome of inequality and violence, occurs due to the disadvantageous position of women compounded by poverty and illiteracy. The study has developed a concept of power-play which is identified as a cause and consequence of women's subordination and violence. This power play is found operative at various levels with social approval for men to use violence and maintain/produce inequality.

The theoretical concept of power play shows that there are inequitable power relations between men and women. The male-centric socio-cultural norms and practices have endowed men with privilege, power, and an opportunity to exploit women. This lowers the status of women and the power-play help to produce and sustain inequality. The power-play exposes women to violence and manifests itself as one of the worst expressions used by men.

Peer Review reports

Violence against women is identified as an attempt by men to maintain power and control over women [ 1 ] and is manifested as a form of structural inequality. This structural inequality is apparent with greater agency among men [ 2 ]. The differences between sexes are exhibited in the attainment of education and professional jobs, ownership of assets, the feminization of poverty, etc., and these differences increase the risk of violence towards women [ 3 ]. The global estimate identifies that thirty percent of women experience physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime, illustrating the enormity of this problem [ 4 ]. From a feminist perspective, lending ideas of patriarchy [ 5 ] and gender performativity [ 6 ], the understanding of gender roles prescribed by male-dominated social structures and processes helps further explore the violence and abuse faced by women [ 7 ]. According to Heise [ 8 ], men who adhere to traditional, rigid, and misogynistic views on gender norms, attitudes, and behaviors are more likely to use violence towards women. The individual and collective attitudes of men toward different established gender norms, and their reproduction explain men’s use of violence toward women [ 9 ]. It is known that gender norms influence violence, but at the same time violence also directs and dictates gender performance with fear, sanction, and corrective measures for enacting respective prescribed gender functions [ 10 ].

It is difficult for women subjected to violence to enjoy legitimate rights, as most of the infringement of their rights and violence takes place inside a private sphere of the home [ 11 , 12 ]. Violence against women is the major cause of death and disability for women [ 13 ] and globally a major public health concern [ 14 ]. Establishing gender equality is fundamental for fostering justice and attaining sustainable development [ 15 ]; moreover, violence against women has to be acknowledged as a fundamental abuse of human rights [ 16 ]. A report on global violence has identified that violence against women exists at all levels of the family, community, and state. The report recommended the development of frameworks for respecting, protecting, and fulfilling women’s rights [ 17 ]. Fifteen years later, a review of the same identifies that violence continues with impunity, reaffirming violence as a major obstacle to the attainment of justice [ 18 ].

The inclusion of the gender lens to violence against women has provided more contextual evidence to explore these processes of violence. This requires the identification of unequal power relationships and an inquiry into the differences-producing various gender stereotypes [ 19 ]. This analysis of violence requires an understanding of behaviors that promote women’s subordination and factors that favor men to sustain these malpractices [ 8 ]. A closer look at the male-centric structural arrangements embedded in the social, political, and economic organization of life reveals that these structures provide lesser access and lower accountability toward women, promote systemic subordination, and create hierarchies, resulting in the increase of violence against women [ 20 ]. This unequal gender power relationship reinforced and manifested by social approval of men’s authority over women is found operative at multiple levels and helps to produce diversities of inequalities and violence [ 21 , 22 ].

The inequalities faced by women in Nepal majorly stem from socio-cultural, economic, and religious factors and influencers that define traditional roles and responsibilities between men and women [ 23 ]. The inequalities are more evident and pronounced in settings exhibiting prominent patriarchal norms restricting advantages and opportunities for the majority of women [ 24 ]. Women in Nepal are restricted inside their homes, have lesser access to life opportunities, and have limited or no involvement in decision-making on important issues directly affecting their lives [ 25 , 26 ]. Figures indicative of women’s inequalities in Nepal suggest that one-third of women have no education, fifty-two percent of women are involved in non-paid jobs, and women are less likely than men to own a home or land [ 27 ]. The men in Nepalese society are positioned higher and are expected to be the breadwinner and protectors of their families. Most of these men intend to earn respect and obedience from women and are socially expected to discipline women to achieve it [ 28 ]. Many societies across the world including Nepal, recognizes violence as a private affair requiring discussion only within a family. This has led to a serious underreporting of violence committed toward women in Nepal [ 29 ]. The national gender data in Nepal is scarce, the available Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016 identifies that since the age of fifteen, twenty-two percent of women and seven percent of women experience physical and sexual violence, respectively in the past twelve months [ 27 ].

The contributing factors for violence against women in Nepal include the lower social status of women, illiteracy, economic dependency, patriarchal society, sex trafficking, alcohol-related abuse, dowry-related violence, infidelity, extramarital affairs of husband, unemployment, and denial of sex with husband [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Nepalese women have been repressing violence with silence due to the fear of breaking relationships, receiving less love and affection from family, fear of social norms by going against men, lack of faith in the justice system, and the threat of increased violence [ 33 ]. Women and girls in Nepal are sex trafficked to various countries. Sex trafficking in Nepal is prevalent due to persistent gender inequality, violence, stigma, and discriminatory socio-cultural structures; however, the actual extent of sex trafficking is still undetermined [ 17 , 34 , 35 ].

The recent trends in Nepal with the increasing number of out-migration of men for employment have provided women with temporary autonomy, and a shift in the gender roles. Earlier research has identified that migration of male spouses has provided a resistance to the power dynamics for women on the other hand it has limited their mobility, required them to share decision-making with household structures, face continued social vigilance on the money received from remittance, and get central attention with their personal sexual lives [ 36 , 37 ].

Morang district lies in the eastern region of Nepal. A district profile report based on a census survey [ 38 ] identifies that the place is inhabited by a close to a million population, out of which ethnic groups ( close to forty percent) live in the district with a majority (seventy-eight percent) of its population living in the rural areas. Tharu an ethnic group is one of the dominant population in the study area and all study participants for this study were from same Tharu population. A close to thirty-six percent of women in the district are illiterate and the average age of marriage is eighteen years. The report identifies that only twenty-three percent of women engage in economic activities apart from agricultural work and less than fourteen percent of women head the household. Almost eighty percent of the population in the district practice Hinduism.

This study is a part of a large intervention project and it was focused to establish a qualitative baseline of the gender status in the study area. This study aimed to explore participants’ experiences and understanding of gender inequality, violence against women, and information on sex trafficking in the Morang district of eastern Nepal. The selection of sex trafficking topic was motivated to assess the respondents’ general understanding of one of the consequences of inequality and violence faced by women. The study focused to explore factors that help to produce and sustain the practice of gender inequality and violence against women in the local community.

Participants

This study was part of a larger control-comparison project that used Forum Theatre interventions to promote gender equality, reduce violence against women, and increase awareness of sex trafficking [ 39 , 40 ]. The participants for the focus group discussion included the intervention population from one of the randomly sampled intervention sites. A multistage focus group discussion [ 41 ] was used involving the same participants discussing various emerging topics at different periods. The participants were recruited voluntarily during an earlier quantitative data collection for the project. The study used a purposive sampling method for the selection of participants. The local field staff at the study site facilitated the recruitment of the participants. The study formulated separate male and female groups. A total of six focus groups, three each with male and female groups were conducted over twelve months. Two inclusion criteria were set for participation. First, the participants had to be part of the population of the larger study. Secondly, they had to witness and/or participate in the Forum Theatre interventions conducted in between the study. The set inclusion criteria served a dual purpose of understanding the causes of inequality and violence and further helped to develop and determine the efficacy of participatory Forum Theater intervention for awareness-raising among the study intervention groups [ 39 ].

A total of thirty-six participants consisting of sixteen males and twenty females joined the discussions. The first discussion consisted of eight participants each from groups while the second and the third discussion missed two female and four male participants respectively. The majority of the participants were 20–29 years old. Tharu, an ethnic community of Nepal, is a dominant population in the study area, and all the participants belonged to the same Tharu community. Only one female participant was unmarried, and a single married male participated in the discussions. All participants were literate, with four males completing a bachelor's level of education. Seven female participants had education below the high school level. The nuclear family with parents and their children was the major family type identified in both male and female groups. Table 1 provides the detail of the participants.

The focus group discussions were conducted in January 2017, April–May 2017, and January 2018. The discussions were conducted in a place recommended by the participants. An isolated place in an open setting at the premise of a local temple was used for conducting all discussions. The participants were briefed about the objectives of the discussion and written consent was obtained for their participation. Verbal consent was taken for the audio recording of the discussions. Each participant was assigned a unique numerical code before the discussions to ensure anonymity during recording, note-taking, and analysis. The discussions averaged ninety minutes during each session. The discussions were conducted with the same participants and no new participants were added during the follow-ups. A single male and female participant were missing in the second follow up and two male participants missed the final follow-up. The reason for missing participants was due to their unavailability as they were out of the village due to personal reasons.

The discussions were conducted in the Nepali language. The first author moderated all six discussions, a support field staff member took the notes, and the last author observed the discussions. The audio recordings were translated into English, and the transcriptions were checked with the recordings to verify accuracy. The field and the discussion notes were used during various stages of data analysis. The notes provided information on the discussion setting, as well as the verbal and nonverbal expressions of the participants. The notes helped to assess the impressions, emphasis, and feelings of the participants during the discussions.

The discussions used pre-formulated discussion guides with open-ended questions on inequalities, gender practices, violence, and sex trafficking. The guiding questions were based on the theoretical premise of discrimination, patriarchy, oppression, hegemony, and participation of women. Three separate discussion guides were developed for each of discussions. The guides were developed by the first and last authors. Probing was done on several occasions during the discussion to gain more clarity on the issue. Cross-checking among the participants and between the groups was done to triangulate received information. Any topic deemed appropriate for discussions and/or any unclear issues identified during the initial data analysis came up subsequently in the discussion guide during the follow-ups.

Data analysis

This study used the constructivist grounded theory method. This method adheres to a constructivist philosophical approach wherein both researchers and participants mutually co-construct the meaning of a phenomenon [ 42 ]. This interaction is important since it helps to impart the meaning of shared experiences [ 42 ]. The constructivist grounded theory made it possible to (re) discover gender issues, important for both the researcher and the study participants. This method allowed the study to progress with responsiveness to emerging issues with an in-depth exploration of the identified issues. This clarity was achieved through repeated interactive discussions, analysis of explanations, and sharing of emergent findings with the study participants.

The audio recordings were translated and transcribed into English. Six transcripts from discussions were initially analyzed using a line-by-line coding process. The coding process helped with the fragmentation of data through interactive comparisons. Fifty-two initial codes such as gender differences, restricting women, alcohol-related violence, underreporting of sexual violence, coping, etc. were identified. The later stage of focused coding helped to achieve categorized data, providing logical sense to the developed initial codes. Three focused codes, namely, the subjugation of women, violence, and chasing dreams were formulated during the analysis. The abductive reasoning from the codes, memos, and discussion notes helped to develop the theoretical concept. The development of conceptual abstraction involved an iterative comparison of the data, codes, categories, memos, and discussion notes.

The constant communication between the authors during the stages of data analysis such as the formulation of codes, explanations of concepts, and categories helped to refine the analysis. The shared experiences of the participants and the description of the data collection and analysis included substantial details, enabling comparisons for future research and application to other similar contexts. The reliability of the study is warranted by the theoretical saturation [ 42 ] achieved by this study. This is supported by prolonged engagement with the study participants with communication on the emerging findings, and triangulation.

Reflexivity has a greater significance for the constructivist approach. The first and the second author of Nepalese origin were aware of the socio-cultural norms, stereotypes, values, and stigmas associated with gender in the local context. This helped the study to ascertain the depth of inquiry within the acceptable local normative limits. The non-Nepalese author, familiar with the study participants and Nepalese contexts, witnessed the discussions as an observer. The prior knowledge of the authors helped to critically assess different schemas, perspectives, and explanations shared by the participants. The universality of gender inequality and violence against women and its re-examination in the local context helped the authors to build upon existing knowledge by providing contextual explanations. The diversities among the authors and research participants established a basis for co-creating the perceived and observed realities.

The section below describes the participants’ perceptions and understanding of inequality and violence. The section contains subheadings that were derived as themes in the data analysis. The first theme subjugation of women; discusses how norms, beliefs, and practices produce inferior status and positions for women. The second theme domestic and gender violence; provides a narrative of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence present in the study area. The theme of chasing dreams; discusses the process of sex trafficking as an outcome of violence. The theoretically abstracted concept of power-play identifies the cause for the generation of power imbalance producing inequality and the use of violence by men.

Subjugation of women

The subjugation of women reflected practices and beliefs imparting positional differences for women and their social situation compared to men. The participants shared a common understanding that belief systems adhering to male supremacy have positioned women in a lower status. They provided examples of social practices of male supremacy such as males being considered as the carrier of a family name, legacy, and heritage, while women were referred to as someone else’s property. The socialization of the idea that girls will be married off to a husband and relocate themselves to their homes was identified as the major reason for instilling and perpetuating early gender differences. The participants mentioned that discriminatory practices and seclusion have situated women at the bottom rung of the gender hierarchy, establishing them as socially incompetent individuals or groups. Moreover, they inferred that selective preferences provided preparatory grounds for inequalities, and they remain attached to women throughout their lives. The participants provided examples of unequal access to education and life opportunities as a practice of selective preferences occurring in the community. They mentioned that socialization with these discriminatory beliefs and their practice helped to develop specialized gender roles from an early age. The participants provided an example of how gender intersected with mobility and resource generation in the community, it was clear from the discussions that this has restricted women inside homes but provided freedom and opportunities for men. A female participant expressed,

A woman from a poor family is more than willing to work and support her family. But she is not allowed by the men in the family to work outside of the home.

The participants informed that differences between the sexes were visible for women from a young age. Sharing practical examples from the community, the participants from both groups stated that girls received education mostly in low-cost government and community schools, while boys were enrolled in expensive private schools. They raised concerns that this selective investment for education, cited as the ‘building block of life’ by the participants, installed lesser capacity, and negotiating abilities in girls. A female participant stated,

There are differences in educational opportunities for boys and girls in our community. Family provides more support for a boy’s education by enrolling him in private schools, while a girl mostly gets her education in a community school together with engagement in household work.

The discussions revealed that women required several male anchors for their survival during their various stages of life. The participants provided examples of the shift of anchors for women which traversed from a father to a husband during marriage and later to the male child during her old age. They believed that this tradition of transferring women’s identity established men as a higher social category and stripped women of their individuality and identity. A male participant added,

Women have to remain dependent on men throughout their lives, first with their fathers and later with their husbands. They remain completely dependent as they are not economically active. This makes men believe that they have higher authority.

The female participants provided an example of marriage to illustrate how someone else’s decision-making had been affecting women’s lives. A participant explained that women were held responsible for household activities after marriage and any support for career progression or education was restricted despite her desire for its continuation. It was inferred that women had to drop their hopes and aspirations as the husband and his family made decisions for them. The female participants agreed that this continuous exposure to the ideas of male supremacy makes them start to believe and internalize the idea that women have lesser cognitive abilities and intelligence compared to men. A female participant stated,

Men and women certainly have different mental abilities. Men think and act differently often in a smart way compared to women.

The participants from both groups expressed that youth in the community were developing flexible attitudes and beliefs towards gender roles and responsibilities. They agreed that both young men and women were observed altering their roles and responsibilities shifting from traditional gender ideologies. The participants expressed that instilling these fluidity and flexible approaches in the older generation was impossible as they strictly followed traditional beliefs and practices. Few of the female participants admitted that at times young women also fail to accommodate the situation and reap benefits from available opportunities. The discussions revealed that a few of the women in the community received opportunities for independence and economic empowerment. These women had received entrepreneurial training and various skill development activities for sustaining livelihoods with practical skill-based training in tailoring, beautician, and doll-making. The female participants expressed that opportunities for independence and growth slipped away from them due to a lack of family support, financial constraints, and self-passivity. They explained that starting a business required approval from a family which was difficult to obtain. Moreover, if women made a self-decision to start up on their own, they lacked the initial capital and had to rely on men for obtaining resources. The participants further explained that the denial of men to support women were majorly due to the fear that norms of staying indoors for women will be breached and economic independence may enable women to have a similar financial footing as men. The participants stated that self-passivity in women emerged due to their engagement in household multiple roles, dependency upon males, and lack of decision-making power and abilities. A female participant summed it up by stating,

Some of us women in the community have received entrepreneurial skills training, but we have not been able to use our skills for our growth and development. Once the training finishes, we get back to our household chores and taking care of the children.

The female participants admitted that acceptance of belief systems requiring women to be docile, unseen, and unheard were the reasons for this self-passivity. The female participants resonated that the external controlling and unfavorable environment influenced by practices of discriminatory norms and beliefs developed self-passivity for women. A female participant expressed the cause and consequence of self-passivity as,

Women have inhibitions to speaking their minds; something stops us from making our position clear, making us lose all the time.

The discussions identified that gender norms were deeply engraved in various social interactions and daily life, and any deviance received strict criticism. The participants shared common examples of sanctions for women based on rigid norms like restrictive movements for women, social gossiping when women communicated with outsider men, prohibition for opinion giving in public, and lesser involvement during key decision-making at home. The participants shared that norms dictating gender roles were in place for both men and women with social sanctions and approval for their performance. A male discussion participant who occasionally got involved with cooking which was a so-called “women’s job” faced outright disapproval from his female relatives and neighbors. The male participant stated,

If I cook or get engaged in any household jobs, it is mostly females from the home and neighborhood who make fun of me and remind me that I am a man and that I should not be doing a woman’s job.

The foreign migration of youth looking for job opportunities has affected the Tharu community. It was known that a large number of men were absent from the community. The participants stated that women in such households with absent men had gained authority and control over resources, moreover, these women have been taking some of the men’s roles. The participants disclosed that these women had greater access and control over resources and were involved in the key decision-making positioning them in a relatively higher position compared to other women. It was known that this higher position for women came with a price, they were under higher social vigilance and at higher risk of abuse and violence due to the absence of ‘protective men’. It was known that women's foreign employment was associated with myths and sexist remarks. The participants shared that women had to face strict social criticisms and that their plans for livelihood and independence were related to an issue of sexual immorality and chastity. The participants from both groups strictly opposed the norms that associated women with sexual immorality but lamented that it continues. A male participant provided an insight into the social remarks received by women if she dares to go for foreign employment,

If a woman wants to go for a foreign job, she is considered to be of loose character. The idea that she is corrupt and will get involved in bad work will be her first impression of anyone.

Although the participant did not explicitly describe what bad work referred to as but it was inferred that he was relating it to sex work.

Domestic and gender violence

The participants identified violence as control, coercion, and use of force against someone will occurring due to unequal status. They primarily identified men as the perpetrators and women as the victims of violence. They explained that two types of violence were observed in the community. The first type occurred in an interpersonal relationship identified as physical, emotional, and sexual violence. The second type, as explained by the participants had its roots in socio-cultural belief systems. They provided examples of dowry exchange and witchcraft accusations for the latter type. The participants identified women as primary victims and listed both men and women as the perpetrators of both types of violence. They reported that physical violence against women by men under the influence of alcohol was the most commonly occurring violence in the community. The participants from both groups confirmed that wife-beating, verbal abuse, and quarrel frequently occurred in the community. It was known from discussions that alcohol consumption among men was widespread, and its cultural acceptance was also increasing episodes of violence. One of the female participants clarified further,

The most common violence occurring in our society is wife-beating by a husband under the influence of alcohol. We see it every day.

The participants reported the occurrence of sexual violence in the community but also pointed out that people refrained from discussing it considering it a taboo and private affair. The participants had hesitation to discuss freely on sexual violence. During the discussions, participants from both groups informed only of rape and attempted rape of women by men as sexual violence present in the community. Despite repeated probing, on several occasions, none of the participants from either group brought up issues and discussions about any other forms of sexual violence. Participants from both groups confirmed that stories about incidents of rape or attempted rape emerged only after cases were registered with the local police. The participants presumed that incidents of rape and attempted rape were not known to the wider community. A female participant stated,

Sexual violence does occur in our community, but people mostly do not report or disclose it, but they tend to keep it amongst themselves and their families.

The participants explained the identity of the rape perpetrator and victim. They identified the perpetrator as a rich, influential, and relatively powerful man from the community. The victim was portrayed as a poor and isolated woman which lesser social ties. It was known from the discussions that most of the rape cases in the community were settled with financial negotiations and monetary compensations for the victim rather than finding legal remedies. It can be inferred that the victimization of women intersects with gender, wealth, social stature, and affluence. The participants feared that this practice of settlement of rape with money could make rape a commodity available for the powerful, rich, and affluent men to exploit and victimize women. A male participant clarifies,

Recently, a man in his sixties raped a young girl near our village. The victim's family was ready to settle with monetary compensation offered by the rapist, but the involvement of the community stopped it and the rapist was handed over to the police.

The participants shared available coping mechanisms against violence practiced in the community by women. It was learned that the victim of household violence mostly used community consultation and police reporting to evade further violence. They divulged that community consultation and police reporting resulted in decisions in favor of victim women, directing abusive husbands to show decency and stop committing violence. The fear of legal repercussions such as spending time in police custody and getting charged under domestic violence cases was understood as the reasons for husbands to stop abuse and violence. The discussions revealed that women who file a formal complaint about their husband’s violent behavior could face an increased risk of violence. The participants disclosed that sharing such incidents publicly brought shame to some of the men and increased their anger, and often backlashed with increased violence. The participants in both groups stated that not all women in the community reported violence. They identified that women tend to be quiet despite facing continuous violence due to the fear of encountering more violence and to keeping their families together. A female participant clarifies,

Lodging public complaints against the abusive husband can sometimes escalate the violence. The husband’s anger for being humiliated in public must be faced by the woman inside the closed doors of the house with more violence and the men’s threat of abandoning the relationship.

The participants stated that socio-cultural violence against women in dowry-related cases was widespread and increasing. The dowry exchange was explained as a traditional practice with the family of the bride paying cash and kind to the groom's family. The participants clarified that the practice of dowry in the earlier days must have been an emergency fund for the newly wedded bride in a newer setting. According to the participants, the system of dowry has now developed and evolved as a practice of forced involuntary transfer of goods and cash demanded by the groom’s family. The discussions disclosed that the demands for dowry were increasing with time and failing to provide as promised immediately resulted in violence for the newly wedded bride. The participants described that dowry-related violence starts with taunts and progresses to withholding of food, verbal abuse, and finally, physical violence. They added that perpetrators of such violence were both men and women from the groom’s family. They stated that due to poverty not all bride families in the community were able to supply all demanded dowry which has exposed a large number of women to face dowry-related abuse and violence. The discussions also informed of a newer trend among girls by demanding goods during their wedding. It was shared that this new emerging trend had increased a two-fold financial burden on the bride’s family with heavy marriage debts. The male participants when questioned about the dowry demands cunningly shifted the responsibilities towards family and stated that it was not the groom but their families who were making such dowry demands. The discussions verified that dowry practice was so engraved in the community that it was impossible to even imagine a marriage without any dowry. A male participant reflected,

If I marry without any dowry, my family, neighbors, and all whom I know would consider that I am insane.

The participants also discussed and identified harmful traditional practices present in the community. The participants informed a common practice of accusing women of as witches existed in the community. It was mentioned that women faced witchcraft allegations in different situations. They provided examples of witchcraft allegations in common situations such as when someone’s cow stops producing milk when a child has a sore eye, when someone is bedridden due to sickness for days, or when a woman undergoes a miscarriage, etc. The participants stated that women accused of witch were always elderly/single women living in seclusion, poverty, and with fewer social ties. They also shared that the witch doctors, who ascertain whether a woman is a witch or not, were surprisingly mostly always men and hold higher status, respect, and social recognition. The consequences of being labeled as a witch, as explained by the participants, haunted victim women with torture, name-calling, social boycott, and extremes of physical violence. The participants informed that inhumane practices such as forceful feeding of human excreta prevailed during the witch cleansing sessions. A female participant explaining the witchcraft situation stated,

Witchcraft accusation is very real in our community; I know someone who has tortured his mother, citing reasons for his wife being childless. The old woman was called names, beaten, and later thrown out of the home.

The participants felt that men’s use of violence and its legitimization primarily existed due to gender hierarchy and internalization of the belief that violence was the best method to resolve any conflict. They inferred that men’s use of violence was further reinforced by women's acceptance and belief that violence had occurred due to their faults and carelessness. The female participants shared examples of common household situations that could result in an episode of violence such as women cooking distasteful food, failing to provide timely care to children and the elderly due to workload, and forgetting to clean rooms. These incidents make women believe that violence majorly occurred due to their mistakes. Furthermore, the participants believed that this self-blaming of the victim resulted due to constant exposure to violence and a non-negotiable social positioning of women for raising questions. The participants stated that beliefs instilled by religion increased the likelihood of victimization for women. They explained that religious practices and ideologies required women to refer to their husbands as godly figures, and a religious belief that anything said or done against husbands was a disgrace bringing sin upon her and family positioned women in an inferior position. A male participant added,

We belong to a culture where females worship their husbands as a god, and this might be an important reason for men to feel powerful as a god to exploit and abuse women.

The discussions put forward the idea that the existence of discriminatory beliefs, reinforcement of such beliefs, and a blind following of such practices produced differences and violence. The male participants acknowledged that the idea of male supremacy not only produced violence but also established a belief system that considered violence as an indispensable way to treat deviated women. One male participant stated this idea of male supremacy and privilege as,

The language of the feet is essential when words fail.

The participants also discussed violence committed toward men by women. The male participants burst into laughter when they stated that some men were beaten by their wives when they were drunk. The male participants admitted that intoxication reduced their strength and they got beaten. The female participants, on the other hand, assumed that women hit intoxicated men due to frustration and helplessness. They further clarified that the act of husband beating was a situational reaction towards men who had spent all of their daily earnings on alcohol. They stated that women with the responsibility to cook and feed family find themselves in an utterly helpless situation by the irresponsible drinking behavior of men. The male participants shared incidences of violence against men due to foreign migration. It was revealed in the discussions that some of the migrating men’s wives had run away with remitted money, abandoning marriage, and breaking up the family. The male participants identified this as a form of victimization of men, furthermore, the spreading of rumors and gossip caused emotional instability in those men. The female participants confirmed that some returning men failed to find their homes, property, money, and/or their wives. The discussion participants in both groups identified that this practice was on the rise in the community. It became apparent from the discussions that this increasing trend of women running away with the money and breaking away from family was a personal issue requiring social remedies.

Chasing dreams

The participants referred to sex trafficking as the exploitation of women, arising from poverty, illiteracy, and deceit. Explaining the causes of trafficking, the participants stated that women living in poverty, having dreams of prosperity and abundance were tricked by the traffickers making them victims of sex trafficking. The participants mentioned that women who had dreams larger than life and yearned for a comfortable and luxurious life in a short time were at a greater risk for sex trafficking. The participants from both groups resonated that the traffickers had been manipulating the dreams of poor women and deceiving them into trafficking. A female participant elaborated,

Women in poverty can be fooled easily with dreams. She can be tricked by a trafficker by saying I will find you employment with good pay abroad, and she gets into the trap easily.

A male participant further clarified,

Women readily fall into fraud and trickery shown by the traffickers who assure of luxurious life with foreign employment and this bait often leads to sex trafficking.

They identified that false hopes for foreign jobs were primarily used as an entry point by the traffickers to trap potential victims. Besides, they stated that some traffickers tricked women with false romantic relationships and marriages to win over their trust enabling traffickers to maneuver women as they wished.

It was identified that traffickers were not always strangers but known and familiar faces from the community, allowing the traffickers to gain the victim’s trust. The discussions divulged that traffickers strategically chose women who were less educated and poor. The participants explained that sex trafficking mostly occurred among women from a lower caste (the caste system is hierarchy-based in Hindu society which is determined by birth and unchangeable). They further explained that if one of these lower caste women went missing, it seldom raised any serious concerns in society, making these women easy targets for the traffickers. The discussions revealed that life for the survivors of sex trafficking was difficult. They identified that the survivor had to face strong stigmas and stereotypes which further increased their risk for re-victimization. The participants explained that the social acceptance of the trafficking survivors was minimal and finding a job for survival was very difficult. It was reported that social beliefs, norms, and practices were rigid for sex trafficking survivors and provided lesser opportunities for complete social integration. A female participant stated,

The story of a sex-trafficked woman does not end after her rescue. It is difficult for her to live in society, and this increases her chances of being a further victim.

The discussions in both groups highlighted that education and awareness were important for reducing sex trafficking. The participants felt that securing a livelihood for women was essential, but they identified it as a major challenge. The female participants recommended the use of education and awareness for reducing sex trafficking. They demanded effective legal actions and stringent enforcement of the law with maximum punishment for offending sex traffickers. They mentioned that the fear of law with maximum punishment for culprits could help decrease cases of trafficking.

The theoretical concept of power play

The discussions identified that gender inequality and violence against women occurred as men possessed and exercised greater authority. The participants explained that the authority emerging from male-centric beliefs was reinforced through established socio-cultural institutions. It was known that oppressive practices toward women in both public and private life have led to the domination and devaluation of women. The differences between men and women were known to be instilled by evoking discriminatory beliefs and due to internalization of them as fundamental truths by women which further helps to sustain these created differences.

The concept of power-play developed from the study has its roots in the belief systems and was found constantly used by men to maintain created differences. The power-play rise due to patriarchy, guiding discriminatory norms and unequal gender practices. These norms and practices in the canopy of patriarchy positions women inferior to men and impose control and restrictions. The power play possessed multi-dimensional effects on women such as creating further barriers, restricted life opportunities, the need for men-centered anchoring systems, and exclusion from the public arena. The power play gains its strength from the strict enforcement of stereotypical practices and committed adherence to gender performances. This leads to internalization of subordination as a natural occurrence by women. These further isolate women putting them into several non-negotiating positions. The power play at an individual level provides restrictive movement for women, barring them from quality education and other life opportunities, and is exhibited in alcohol-related assault and sexual violence. At the structural level, this power play limits women from economic opportunities, access to resources, and decision-making, and induces socio-cultural inequality exhibited in dowry and cases of witchcraft. The socio-cultural acceptance of power-play allows men to use violence as a misuse of power and use it as an effort to maintain authority. The use of power-play for committing violence was identified as the worst display of exercised power play.

Figure  1 describes the concept of power-play developed from the study. The power-play model is based on discussions and inferences made from data analysis. The model provides a description and explanation of how women are subjected to inequality and face violence. The concept of power play derives its strength from the subjugated status of women which are based on selective treatment, self-embodiment of inferiority, imposed restrictions and due to lesser life opportunities. The power play gain legitimacy through social approval of the status differences between men and women and through social systems and institutions majorly developed and favoring men. The status difference between men and women and its approval by developed social institutions and processes give rise to the concept of powerplay. It identifies that status differences allow men to gain and (mis)use power play not only to maintain differences but also enable men to use violence. The use of power-play exists at both interpersonal and cultural levels. Further, the model elaborates on influencers causing subjugation of women, display of power-play, and violence. The model identified that lodging public complaints and seeking legal remedies are the influencers that suppress violence against women. The influence of Forum Theater was perceived to have greater influence for victim, perpetrator, and bystanders. The influencers that aggravate violence are fear of further violence, the nature of the interpersonal relationship, alcohol-related abuse, and remaining silent especially on sexual violence. The cultural violence mentioned in the model refers to dowry and witchcraft-related violence and stands as systemic subordination. In the model, sex trafficking is depicted as one of the outcomes of inequality and violence faced by women majorly occurring due to deceit and fraud.

The theoretical concept of power-play developed in this study identifies that inequality produces violence and violence further reinforces inequality, creating a vicious circle. The power play situates hierarchy based on gender as the primary cause and identifies violence as an outcome of this power asymmetry. The authority to use power by men is received by social approval from embedded structures and institutions. The functioning of associated structures and norms is designed and run by men helping to perpetuate the dominance and subjugation of women. The study identifies that both interpersonal and socio-cultural violence emerges due to the positional differences and use of power. The study found that an element of control exists in interpersonal violence. The findings show that few victim women in the community took advantage of consultations and rely on the law to evade and /or cope during the occurrence of interpersonal violence. A large number of victims women however suffer silently as they are unable and unwilling to take a stand on violence due to their perceived positional differences and strict norms following. The study finds that violence originating from socio-cultural systems is widely accepted and no established means of control exists. The practice of heinous acts against a fellow human during witchcraft allegations and dowry exchanges is prohibited by the law of Nepal but is widespread. This situates that practices which are based on belief systems are more effective than prevailing national laws which try to stop them. Sex trafficking as a form of sexual violence use deceit and fraud against women. Poverty and illiteracy compel women to search for alternatives, and they become easy victims of sex trafficking when their dreams of a better life are manipulated by the traffickers. The false promise of a better life and highly paid job put women in a non-negotiating position with traffickers. The cherished dream of escaping the prevailing status-quo of oppression, subordination, violence, and poverty mesmerizes women to take risky decisions, falling into the risk and trap of sex trafficking.

The socio-cultural norms are the unwritten script of social operatives and functioning. These social norms function as codes of operation and are a major determinant for behavior and interactions between people [ 43 ]. The study has found that these norms were skewed, and most favored men, giving rise to status differences and producing inequalities for women. This is observed with lesser life opportunities, lower participation in decision-making, and a constant need to anchor women. This further helps men to maintain their hierarchical positional status and use violence. The subjugation of women does not occur in a linear process, it is influenced by the internalization of discrimination resulting in lower self-esteem, suppression, and domination of women based on norms and unequal practices. Earlier research has identified that norms and beliefs encourage men to control women, and direct them to use force to discipline women which increases the risk of violence occurrence [ 44 , 45 ]. An earlier study shows that traits of masculinity require men to become controlling, aggressive, and dominant over women to maintain status differences [ 46 ]. The study confirms that men upon receiving both normative and social approval for using violence against women can do so without hesitation.

Violence against women in Nepal mostly occurs inside the home and is only reported when it reaches higher levels of severity. The acceptance of violence as a private affair has restricted women from seeking support and discourages them from communicating their problems with outsiders [ 47 ] this increases more likelihood for men to use violence. The study finds issues related to sex and sexual violence is a taboo and are seldom reported. The study could only identify cases of sexual assault registered with the police and other cases known to the wider community as sexual violence. A community with known incidents of rape may have other cases of abuse, harassment, incest, forceful sexual contact, etc. Failure to report incidents of sexual violence infer that a large number of women could be suffering in silence. Earlier research identifies that increased stigmatization associated with sexual violence, and fear of seclusion cause reluctance in victims to report or seek support [ 48 ]. This silencing of victims provides men with greater sexual control over women [ 49 ] increasing more likelihood of use of violence. Gender-based inequality and violence intersect structures, institutions, and socio-cultural processes, making inequality and violence visible at all levels. The dowry-related violence and witchcraft allegation intersect interpersonal and structural violence. This cultural violence forces women to be a victim of lifelong abuse and trauma. The intersecting relationship between gender norms, social structures, and individual is so closely knitted that it produces varieties of inequality and violence at all levels [ 50 ]. Emotional violence in this study only emerged as a type of violence, during discussions in both groups. It did not emerge as a major concern for the participants except for dowry-related violence and violence against men. The intertwined nature of emotional violence and its occurrence with each abusive, exploitative, and violent situation may have influenced the participants understand it as a result, rather than as a specific type of violence.

The power play between sexes was found in synchronicity with the established norms and prevailing stereotypes, helping to perpetuate gender power imbalance. The gender system is influenced and governed by norms and the social arena becomes the site of its reproduction through the interaction and engagement of people. This interaction provides approval to the institutions and processes that are based on constructed differences between men and women [ 51 ]. The power, as identified by Fricker [ 52 ], controls a social group and operates and operates through the agent or established social structures. A man can actively use the vested power to either patronize and/or abuse women while passively women’s internalization of social settings and embedded norms can put them docile. The social controls as reported by Foucault [ 53 ] work with the embedded systems of internalization, discipline, and social monitoring and uses coercion rather than inflicting pain. The internalization of status differences among women as indicated by the study confirms this schema of social control. The dominance of men over women with patriarchal beliefs establishes the significance of male-centered kinship. This requires women to constantly anchor with men providing grounds for inequalities to perpetuate further. This idealizes men and reinforces the belief that women are non-existent without their presence. The requirement for male anchorage has an attachment to prevailing structural inequality. The family property and resources are mostly controlled by men and it usually transfers from father to son limiting inheritance to women [ 51 ]. These glorified idealizations of men's competence as described by Ridgeway [ 54 ] idealize men as individuals with abilities, status, power, and influences. The need for women to rely on men as anchors, fear of going against the norms and social sanctions explains the positional difference and show that men possess greater competencies. The internalization of men-centric superior beliefs by women occurs due to self-passivity and devalues women creating false impressions of their abilities. The gender roles and responsibilities were strict for both sexes but provided greater flexibility, privilege, and opportunity for men. Earlier studies in congruence with this study find that socio-cultural expectations limit women from deviation, and strictly adhere to their prescribed role and expectations [ 55 , 56 ] providing an upper hand to the men. The unequal social positioning of women, as defined by a few of the participants, can help define men's use of violence. As inferred by Kaufman [ 57 ], the disadvantageous position of women and support from the established structures enable men to use aggression and violence with considerable ease. The concept of power-play derived from this study also reflects that inequalities not only create hierarchies, putting women into a subordinating position but also legitimize norms of harmful masculinity and violence [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ] creating a vicious cycle of inequality and violence. The concept of power-play developed by this study requires further exploration of gender relations, injustice, and patriarchy to identify multiple operatives of power with an outcome of inequality and violence.

Strengths and limitations of the study

The study followed the same participants over a period, which helped the study to achieve clarity on the topics through constant engagement. The data collection and the initial data analysis of the study were conducted by the same person, which reduced the risk of misrepresented findings. The study used follow-up discussions, which provided an opportunity to meet the participants again to resolve any ambiguities. The constant engagement with the participants helped to develop rapport and trust, which is essential to enable meaningful discussions. The study gathered rich data for developing the theory of power play in the Nepalese context. The study has attempted to explain the interplay of men’s use of power play, gender inequality, and violence against women, which, in itself, is a complex, but important issue. The study helped to develop a platform by identifying a level of awareness and needs for a Forum Theatre intervention study, a first of its kind in Nepal.

The major limitation of the study is that it was conducted with only one of the ethnic populations of Nepal; thus, the findings from this study cannot be generalized to a completely different setting. However, the transferability of the study is possible in a similar setting. The incidences of inequality and violence shared by the participants were self-reported, and no other means of verification were available to crosscheck those claims. The differences among the participants both in and between groups based on education and marital status might have influenced the study participants to understand, observe, and experience the phenomenon. The possibility of social desirability bias remains with the study, as a constant engagement with the study participants might have influenced them to answer differently. Furthermore, the discussions were conducted in groups, and participants might have had hesitation to bring up any opposing views. The study relied on collecting information on social norms and individual experiences and the perceptions of the study participants. It cannot be claimed that the study is devoid of any data rigidity as participants were free to choose what they wanted to share and express.

Study implications

The study explains gender practices, norms, violence against women, and sex trafficking in Nepal. The study helps to increase the understanding of how gender systems are operative in the daily lives of the Tharu community in the Morang district of Nepal. Future studies can explore the established linkages of interpersonal and socio-cultural violence. Like the complex link existing between gender inequality and violence against women, interpersonal violence and socio-cultural violence cannot be studied in isolation. The study provides an opportunity for future research on exploring how changing norms have been altering the position and victimization of women. The study finds that changing gender norms and responsibilities have, on the one hand, provided agency and empowerment for women, but on the other hand, they have also increased their risk of being a victim, an area that requires further exploration. The study has identified that constant engagement with the study participants through follow-up studies ensures the richness of data, which can be useful information for a future research study design. The study can be helpful for policy development, social activists, leaders, and researchers as it discusses prevalent gender oppressions and victimization, which need to be addressed. The findings from the study can be helpful for dialogue imitation and for designing intervention projects aimed at providing justice and equality to women.

The study identifies the presence of gender inequalities and violence against women in the study area. The positional differences based on norms, institutions, and practices have assigned greater privileges to men. The concept of power-play devised by the study ascertains the maintenance of gender hierarchy to produce inequality further and victimization of women. The subjugation of women based on the social-cultural process, embedded belief systems, and norms prevent women from life opportunities and dignified life. It situates men at the highest rung of the gender and social ladder providing a comparative advantage for men to use power. Violence emerges as men’s use of power play and as a strategy for the continued subjugation of women. Sex trafficking as a consequence of inequality and violence has its origins in illiteracy and poverty with women falling prey to the deceit of traffickers. It is important that dreams for progression provide motivation for women to develop further but at the same time, dreams should not be exchanged with trickery and fraud offered by the traffickers. Awareness and attitudinal changes are imperative to challenge unequal norms, and practices, and reduce the risks of sex trafficking. This can help to develop negotiations for power-sharing which helps to reduce inequality, violence, and preparedness in chasing dreams. Changes at both individual and societal levels are necessary to develop a collective action for establishing belief systems and practices providing women with an equal position and reducing the risk of violence.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Felson RB, Outlaw MC. The control motive and marital violence. Violence Vict. 2007;22:387–407.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Wamala S, Ågren G. Gender inequity and public health: Getting down to real issues. European Journal of Public Health. 2002.

World Health Organization. Promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women. World Health Organization. 2009.

Devries K, Maki J, Garcia-Moreno C, Petzold M, Child J, Falder G, et al. The Global Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women. Science (80- ). 2013;340(6140):1527–38.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Walby S. Theorising patriarchy. Sociology. 1989;

Butler J. Undoing gender. Routledge. 2004.

Yllo K. Through a Feminist Lens: Gender, Diversity, and Violence: Extending the Feminist Framework In Current Controversies on Family Violence. California: Sage Publication; 2005.

Google Scholar  

Heise L. Violence against women: An integrated, ecological framework. Violence Against Women. 1998;4:262–90.

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Pulerwitz J, Barker G. Measuring attitudes toward gender norms among young men in Brazil: Development and psychometric evaluation of the GEM Scale. Men Masculinities. 2008;10:322–38.

Article   Google Scholar  

Jakobsen H. What’s Gendered about Gender-Based Violence?: An Empirically Grounded Theoretical Exploration from Tanzania. Gend Soc [Internet]. 2014;28(4):537–61. Available from: ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0891243214532311 ).

Cook RJ. Gender, Health and Human Rights. Heal Hum Rights Quart. 1995;350–68.

Freeman MA. Reservations to CEDAW: An Analysis for UNICEF. Discussion Pper [Internet]. UNICEF; 2009. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/gender/files/Reservations_to_CEDAW-an_Analysis_for_UNICEF.pdf

UNIFEM. Facts and figures: Violence against women [Internet]. 2007. Available from: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/focus-areas/end-violence-against-women/evaw-facts-and-figures .

WHO. Multi-country study on women’s health and violence against women [Internet]. World Health Organization: Geneva; 2005. Available from: http://www.who.int/gender/violence/whomulticountry-study/en/ .

UN Women. World Survey on the Role of Women in Development. Gender Equality and Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations; 2014.

Thomas D, Beasley M. Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue. Albany Law Rev. 1995;58:1119–47.

Coomaraswamy R. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1999/68 Against Women: Violence against women in the family [Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland; 2002. Available from: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/459009?ln=en

OHCHR. 15 Years of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (1994–2009)-A Critical Review [Internet]. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); 2009. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/15YearReviewofVAWMandate.pdf

Stephanie Rose M. The role of structural and interpersonal violence in the lives of women: a conceptual shift in prevention of gender-based violence. BMC Women Heal. 2015;15:93.

Farmer PE, Nizeye B, Stulac S, Keshavjee S. Structural violence and clinical medicine. Plos Med. 2006;3(10):e449.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

WHO. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2002.

Connell RW. Hegemonic Masculinity. Jackson S, Scott S, editors. Gender: A Sociological Reader. London: Routledge; 1987.

UNFPA. Overcoming violence against women through an integrated and community-based approach Vol. 2, Programming to Address Violence Against Women. 8 Case Studies. 2008.

Pigg S. Inventing Social Categories through Place: Social Representations and Development in Nepal. Comp Stud Soc Hist. 1992;34(3):491–513.

Lamichhane P, Puri M, Tamang J, Dulal B. Women’s Status and Violence against Young Married Women in Rural Nepal. BMC Womens Health. 2011;11:19.

Atteraya MS, Gnawali S, Song IH. Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Nepal. J Interpers Violence. 2015;30(7):1226–46.

Ministry of Health N, New Era. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016 [Internet]. Kathmandu, Nepal: MOH/Nepal, New ERA, and ICF; 2017. Available from: http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR336/FR336.pdf

Ghimire DJ, Axinn WG, Smith-Greenaway E. Impact of the spread of mass education on married women’s experience with domestic violence. Soc Sci Res. 2015;

Joshi S, Kharel J. Violence against Women in Nepal -- An Overview. Free Libr. 2008;

Government of Nepal. A study on gender based violence conducted in selected rural districts of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers; 2012.

Deuba K, Mainali A, Alvesson HM, Karki DK. Experience ofintimate partner violence among young pregnant women in urban slums of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: a qualitative study. BMC Women’s Heal. 2016;16:11.

Sharma S, SRIF/SNV. Domestic violence in Nepali society: root cause and consequences a research report. Social Inclusion Research Fund; 2007.

Joshi SK. Violence Against Women (VAW) in Nepal: Role of Health Care Workers. Kathmandu Univ Med J. 2009;7(2):89–91.

Dahal P, Kumar Joshi S, Swahnberg K. “We are looked down upon and rejected socially”: A qualitative study on the experiences of trafficking survivors in nepal. Glob Health Action. 2015;8:29267.

Huda S. Sex trafficking in South Asia. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2006;94(3):374–81.

Hendrickson ZM, Owczarzak J, Lohani S, Thapaliya Shrestha B, Underwood CR. The (re)productive work of labour migration: the reproductive lives of women with an absent spouse in the central hill region of Nepal. Cult Heal Sex. 2019;21(6):684–700.

Hendrickson ZM, Lohani S, Thapaliya Shrestha B, Underwood CR. Talking about reproduction with a migrating spouse: Women’s experiences in Dhading. Nepal Health Care Women Int. 2018;39(11):1234–58.

DDC. District Profile Morang 2070 [Internet]. Biratnagar, Morang; 2013. Available from: http://ddcmorang.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/District-profile-2070.pdf

Dahal P, Joshi SK, Swahnberg K. Does Forum Theater Help Reduce Gender Inequalities and Violence? Findings From Nepal. J Interpers Violence [Internet]. 2021 Mar 4;0886260521997457. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521997457

Dahal P, Joshi SK, Swahnberg K. The Prevalence of gender inequalities and gender based violence in eastern Nepal. Kathmandu Univ Med J. 2019;17(4 [ISSUE 68|OCT.-DEC).

Hummelvol JK. The Multistage Focus Group Interview A Relevant and Fruitful Method in Action Research Based on a Co-operative Inquiry Perspective. Nor Tidsskr Sykepl. 2008;10.

Chamraz K. Constructing Grounded Theory A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: SAGE Publications; 2010.

Darlauf SN, Blume LE. New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second. London: Macmillan; 2008.

Book   Google Scholar  

Ilika AL. Women’s Perception of Partner Violence in a Rural Igbo Community. Afr J Reprod Health. 2005;9:77–88.

Mitra A, Singh P. Human Capital Attainment and Gender Empowerment: The Kerela Paradox. Soc Sci Q. 2007;88:1227–42.

Niaz U. Violence against women in South Asian countries. Arch Women’s Ment Heal. 2003;6(3):173–84.

Khan H. Women’s perceptions and experiences of sexual violence in marital relationships and its effect on reproductive health. Health Care Women Int. 2008;29:468–83.

Sable M, Danis F, Mauzy D, Gallagher SK. Barriers to reporting sexual assault for women and men: perspectives of college students. J Am Coll Heal. 2006;55:157–62.

Flood M, Pease B. Factors Influencing Attitudes To Violence Against Women. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2009;10(2):125–42.

Jewkes R, Penn KL, Rose JH. ‘‘If they rape me, I can’t blame them”: Reflections on gender in the social context of child rape in South Africa and Namibia. Soc Sci Med. 2005;61:1809–20.

Cislaghi B, Heise L. Using social norms theory for health promotion in low-income countries. Heal Promot Int. 2019;34(3):616–23.

Fricker M. Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2007.

Foucault M. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books; 1995.

Ridgeway CL. Framed Before We Know It: How Gender Shapes Social Relations. Gend Soc. 2009;23(2):145–60.

Hollander J. Demand More of People: Accountability, Interaction, and Gender Change. Gend Soc. 2013;27(1):5–29.

West C, Zimmerman D. Doing Gender. Gend Soc. 1987;1(2):125–51.

Kaufman M. The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence. Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on Pleasure, Power, and Change. Canada: Oxford University Press; 1987.

Connell R. Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1995.

Courtenay WH. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: a theory of gender and health. Soc Sci Med [Internet]. 2000;50(10):1385–401. Available from: ( http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277953699003901 ).

Jakobsen H. What’s Gendered about Gender-Based Violence? Gend Soc. 2014;28(4):537–61.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the focus group discussion participants. The authors are indebted to Bhojraj Sharma, Deekshya Chaudhary, Subham Chaudhary, and Dev Kala Dhungana for their coordination and facilitation in reaching the discussion participants.

Open access funding provided by Linnaeus University.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Health and Caring Science, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden

Pranab Dahal & Katarina Swahnberg

Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, 446 00, Kathmandu, Nepal

Sunil Kumar Joshi

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

PD, SKJ, and KS were involved in the study design. PD and KS developed the discussion guides. PD was responsible for the data collection and the data analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pranab Dahal .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The ethical clearance for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee, Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu. All protocols were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants for the study and verbal consent was sought for the audio recording of the discussions.

Consent for publication

All the participants provided Informed consent for the publication of their data.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Dahal, P., Joshi, S.K. & Swahnberg, K. A qualitative study on gender inequality and gender-based violence in Nepal. BMC Public Health 22 , 2005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14389-x

Download citation

Received : 18 February 2021

Accepted : 19 October 2022

Published : 01 November 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14389-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Constructivist grounded theory

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

• General enquiries: [email protected]

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• PMC10075448

A qualitative insight into researchers’ perceptions of gender inequality in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria

Morenike oluwatoyin folayan.

1 Department of Physical Sports, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

2 Department of Child Dental Health, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Adekemi Olowokeere

3 Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Joanne Lusher

4 Provost’s Group, Regent’s University London, London, United Kingdom

Olabisi Aina

5 Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Guillermo Z. Martínez-Pérez

Associated data.

All relevant data are within the paper.

The aim of the study was to gain a qualitative insight into scientific researchers’ perceptions of gender inequality inside Nigerian research institutions through an investigation of how gender equality is enacted in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria.

This descriptive and cross-sectional qualitative study probed decision-making around navigating gender inequity and explored opinions about how a supportive environment for female medical and dental researchers could be established. Data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with 54 scientific researchers across 17 medical and dental academic institutions in Nigeria between March and July 2022. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Three core themes emerged: institutionalized male dominance in research institutions; changing narratives on gender equalities in research and academic enterprise; and women driving the conscience for change in research institutions. Female medical and dental researchers’ perceived gender equality was challenging mainstream androcentric values in knowledge production within the medical and dental field; and queries the entrenchment of patriarchal values that promote a low number of female medical and dental trainees, fewer female research outputs, and few women in senior/managerial positions in the medical fields.

Despite the general view that change is occurring, a great deal remains to be done to facilitate the creation of a supportive environment for female medical and dental researchers in Nigeria.

Introduction

Gender equality is a visionary pursuit that carries an implication that economic, social, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with different genders by different society should not confer difference in expectations that debar pursuits and aspirations, can positively influence individual and social development [ 1 ]. Moreover, equality is critical for the socioeconomic stability of countries as it promotes and guarantees peace and social justice. Three areas in which gender equality can foster progress is in science, education, and health [ 2 ]. Medical and dental researchers stand at the fulcrum of social development through their engagement in these three domains [ 3 ]. They also contribute to economic development through their work on understanding disease and promotion of medicine, vaccines, diagnostics, and effective public health messages. The work of scientists in research institutions often requires training others to advance science to support disease eradication and quality of life. This opportunity opened to medical and dental researchers through the promotion of gender equality has yet to be optimized.

In Africa, female researchers face greater challenges in the medical and dental health contexts limiting their ability to make optimal contributions to individuals and society [ 4 ]. For example, in West Africa, medical and dental researchers are faced with gender values and norms that assign women to domestic tasks and responsibilities that reduce the time they can dedicate to research [ 4 ]. This may explain why women spend more time teaching and less time researching, when compared with men [ 5 ]. Additionally, gender-blind organizational culture and institutional policies make it difficult for women to attain leadership positions and place them at risk of low opportunity for participation in science [ 4 , 5 ]. Moreover, female medical and dental health researchers can become distracted from investing in the process of challenging the gender-blind systems by dedicating attention to preserving relationships with their male spouses [ 4 ].

Like many other gender-blind research institutions in and outside of Nigeria, including medical research institutions, men in research have a greater number and quality of research outputs than women who are in research [ 6 – 8 ]; and fewer women are seen in top-office in research institutions [ 9 ]. The tendency for this is high because of the large number of male medical and dental students [ 10 , 11 ]. This is also driven by the high number of male students who pick a pre-college science track in secondary school [ 12 ]. The high number of men in medical and dental research institutions and the high number of men in managerial posts reflects a complex sociological phenomenon that enshrines these patriarchal practices through the use of gender exclusionary strategies that maintain the male monopoly [ 13 , 14 ].

There is limited information on the gender distribution of researchers in Nigeria. The available evidence indicates that the number of women in dental institutions had steadily increased from 36.2% in 2003, to 42.5% in 2013. Thus, the predominance of intake of men remains [ 15 ]. There are clearly gender differences in fields of specialization with a steady increase in the number of women in leadership positions [ 15 ]. However, this increase in female participation in dental academia may not quite reflect medical practice. For example, Ogunbodede [ 16 ] indicated an observed discrepancy in the increase in number of practicing female dentists versus practicing female medical practitioners over a 10-year period. While the number of dentists increased from 15% to 35% between 1981 and 2000, the increase for medical practitioners only shifted from 15% to 19%. Similarly, the number of male doctors in Nigeria is consistent with roughly twice the number between 2017 and 2019 [ 17 ]. Although male dentists do not double the number of female dentists, the number of male dentists (810) outweighs female dentists (555) [ 18 ].

A gender equality gap could not, however, be determined purely on grounds of numbers. This would be time-bound and to the continued detriment of developing an equal society. There is also no guarantee that a reduction in the number-gap would change the current paradigm. Prior studies have indicated that having more women educated in science not will change the status quo of more men holding senior positions [ 19 – 22 ]. The envisioned change in gender representation in the research institutions and research managerial positions needs to be driven by the collective concern and commitment to improving the quality of research outputs for the health and wellbeing of the society through the participation of women [ 23 ].

The theoretical perspective that informed the design of this study therefore, used a feminist institutionalism analytical lens that would enable the exploration of gendered institutions and their gendering effect [ 24 ]. The feminist institutionalism analytical approach enhances the exploration of the gendered dimensions of structures of power and behavior and the role played by institutional informal structures, processes, values, and norms. [ 25 , 26 ]. It enables an analysis of how informal institutions interacts with the formal systems; through roles played by gendered rules, actors, and outcomes, to produce gendered outcomes. Also, the feminist institutionalism analytical approach provides a theoretical lens that allows for gendered power relations and the processes that makes such relations visible [ 25 ].

Despite it being apparent that gender inequality practices exist among professions, little is known about how female medical and dental health researchers use the potentially transformative opportunities that do come their way. Are there career trajectories that make it possible for female medical and dental health researchers to access and maximize their use of these transformative opportunities in education and career development? Does the cultural context of female medical and dental health researchers support the institutionalization of gender inequality in ways that limits their ability to facilitate gender equality in their profession?

The present study aimed to address these research questions in order to provide insight into the career advancements of medical and dental academic health researchers irrespective of their gender. This qualitative study investigated how gender equality is enacted in the medical and dental research field; and explored male and female researchers’ perceptions of gender inequalities in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria. It probed decision-making around navigating gender inequity within research institutions and explored opinions on how a supportive environment for female medical and dental researchers in Nigeria could be established.

Materials and methods

This study adopted an academic literacies perspective that accounts for context, culture, and genre [ 27 , 28 ]. The theoretical framework applied in this study was the preference theory due to its appropriateness for exploring researchers’ investment in efforts to mainstream gender considerations in institutional processes; whilst recognizing the need for women to simultaneously meet family and work responsibilities [ 29 ].

Study design, study site and study participants

This study formed part of a larger qualitative study that was conducted in Nigeria to determine barriers and ways to resolve gender equality in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria. Female and male faculty members of 17 universities in Nigeria took part in this research study between March and July 2022. Participants were able to read and communicate in the English language and defined themselves as academics in either the health, medical, or dental education field because they promote, design, conduct and disseminate biomedical, clinical, and socio-epidemiological research in Nigeria. All participants resided in Nigeria, were adult members of academic or research institutions working on health issues and consented to take part in a one-hour interview.

Sample size

It was estimated that three study participants would be recruited from each of the 17 institutions that hosted a medical and dental school in Nigeria. Therefore, 54 interview slots were allocated equitably amongst professors, readers, senior lecturers, and lecturers (the entire spectrum of designations in the academia in Nigeria). The slots were also divided equitably among dentists and medical personnel, and in a proportion of 2:1 for female: male interviewees. These designates were then randomly allocated to each institution as indicated in the S1 Table . This sample size was adjudged to be adequate to generate rich information; and allow for saturation to occur. With a non-response rate of 20%, it was anticipated that the final sample size for the in-depth interview will be 43. Saturation is often reached with a sample size of 12 persons when working with a homogeneous group like that for this study [ 30 ].

Sampling procedure

A purposive and convenience sampling was used to identify potential participants working in a medical and dental health academic institution and conducting research in that institution. The diversity of respondents was ensured by recruiting study participants from all the academic cadres in the medical and dental institutions.

Study participants were recruited through a combination of purposive sampling and snowballing. Peers of the principal investigator in each of the 17 institutions were contacted and asked to identify a possible respondent that fit the profile of respondent to be interviewed in their institution. If the interviewee met the inclusion criteria, the principal investigator contacted her/him by telephone or via Email/WhatsApp. The purpose and objectives of this study was explained, the interviewee was invited to take part in an in-depth interview and a date was scheduled for the interview. Before the scheduled date, written informed consent was sought. When the consent form was filled and sent back, the interviewee was then enrolled as a study participant.

At the end of each interview, participants were asked to share the name of a colleague who may be interested in the interview. That colleague was then contacted and the process for enrolment was repeated until the target number of participants had been reached. Whenever a study participant refused study participation, the participant was replaced by an eligible study participant in the pool of contacted researchers.

Study procedure

An interview schedule was adapted based on a focus group discussion held with a convenience sample of 12 researchers working in medical and dental academic institutions. These were six male and six female researchers from Belgium, Brazil, Malaysia, Iran, Nigeria, United States of America, and Turkey. These researchers had a history of working in the West Africa region. The expert consultation was held via a conference call in June 2021 and aimed to explore perspectives on the scope of intervention carried out by university faculty members on gender equality in education and professional development. Before the discussion took place, participants received a one-page concept note about the main study, which included a brief description of the conceptual framework for the study; the working definitions of gender equality (people of all genders have equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities); and the aim of the discussion. The outcome of this discussion formed the basis of the interview schedule used in the main study.

In-depth interviews were conducted between March and July 2022 during the COVI-19 pandemic. Interviews were conducted using Telegram and WhatsApp video calls to identify interviewees perspectives on observed gender differences in career progression and trajectory of medical and dental researchers in Nigeria; as well as gender-related barriers to opportunities for changing this trajectory for future female researchers. Interviews were conducted between March and July 2022. All interviews were conducted in English and audio-recorded. Interviewees were required to switch on their video to enable the interviewer ensure the interview was being conducted in privacy. Notes were taken during the interview. The time range for the interview was 26 minutes to 71 minutes with a mean time of 55 minutes.

Data analysis

The purpose of data collection was to seek richness of information and to saturate all concepts and categories emerging from the in-depth interviews. After each interview, transcripts were transcribed verbatim, and were read and reread to reveal emergent themes. Table 1 presents ten broad topics that were explored through these interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim into a password protected Microsoft Word document accessible only via a single password protected computer. Anonymized transcripts of the recordings were checked to verify their accuracy and completeness compared to the audio recordings. Personal identifiers and names of places and institution were not transcribed.

Transcribed interview recordings were imported into Atlas.Ti and read and re-read to identify codes and categories using an inductive approach to code, analyze and report on [ 31 , 32 ]. This process helped gain familiarity with the data and achieve new insights by analyzing for recurring themes and issues that represented answers to the questions; and to draw conclusions from the responses.

A codebook was inductively developed from themes that had been generated and from analytical questions intended to elicit a thorough, nuanced exploration of gender equality in medical and dental research. Coding and analysis were led by the first author of this report. A second qualitative researcher was consulted for extra coding to ensure inter-coder reliability during the process. The adoption of this particular approach ensured the identification and description of new codes and subthemes within the transcripts and this procedure continued until the point of saturation was reached.

During this coding process, novel codes that emerged from the data were included to review the initial generated codebook. The transcripts were again re-read using the new codebook. This approach was employed to develop categories, which were then explored and used when discussing the pre-conceived topics. The concepts and categories of analysis were defined using the words of the participants. Data were organized into key themes and subthemes generated by the coding process, and excerpts and illustrative quotes of general insights and of deviant cases from the transcripts were selected to substantiate the presentation of the key findings in this report. The informants’ own words were also used to report the findings. Attention was paid to the researchers’ reflexive journals to ensure that informant biases were not introduced. The Consolidated criteria for Reporting Qualitative research guidelines were considered.

Ethics approval was obtained from the Institute of Public Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria (IPH/OAU/12/1617). All informants signed an informed consent form.

Participants’ characteristics

Table 2 presents data on the sociodemographic profile of the 54 female and male medical and dental professionals who participated in the in-depth interviews. The sample presents 48% females and 52% males, with their ages ranging from 33 to 62 years (what of the age mean?). Participants were educated to postgraduate level and most of whom were married. The number of children of interviewees ranged from 1 to 5.

Profile of refusals

An initial 44 (29 medical and 15 dental researchers; 30 females and 14 males) contacts were made. Of these, 12 (7 medical and 5 dental researchers; 10 women and 2 men) did not respond to contact made. One did not meet eligibility criteria, and eight (7 medical and 1 dental researchers; 4 females and 4 males) declined participation. The 21 consented respondents helped reach other participants through the snowballing process

Emergent themes

Three core themes emerged from the data that each reflected participants’ perceptions on how female medical and dental researchers’ make decisions to navigate the constraints within the research institutions in which they work; and how they act to promote a supportive environment for their female peers. These themes were: (1) Ingrained patterns of institutionalized male dominance in research institutions; (2) Hopes for a changing narrative on gender equalities in research; and (3) Women driving the conscience for change. These themes, along with the subthemes and extracts are presented in Table 3 .

Ingrained patterns of institutionalized male dominance in research institutions

Women felt under-represented and men overrepresented in most fields in the medical and dental fields. Women expressed an opinion that the medical and dental fields are male-dominated and that women need to compete more with lower status positions, as one participant expressed:

‘If you go to male -female enrollment in school, you will find out that the percentage is higher for males than females. Then, when you even come to the university, at least I can assert a guess that in my place, if we are like 35 doctors there will be like 7 females’ Dentist_male

Interviewees of both genders perceived that the number of women in the medical and dental profession is increasing, though they remain underrepresented in managerial positions in universities in Nigeria and are less likely to be promoted or elected to managerial positions. Women identified that they had had to put in a lot of effort to demonstrate that they were capable of doing just as well as or even better than men as indicated by the following extract:

It was not a small battle to convince learned people like professors, medical doctors saying a female can do this. Even up until now, we are yet to have our female first Vice Chancellor.’ Basic Sciences_Male

As per the participants’ opinions, gender inequality results in uneven power relations, entitlements, social values, responsibilities, and duties in patriarchal societies. The socialization process also affects how each gender perceives oneself and the power and influence they have. The majority of female researchers observed a male dominant culture in the medical and dental profession, which not only limits the opportunities for selection or nomination into leadership position, but also medical and dental specialization opportunities. As identified, men are perceived by female participants as afraid of women altering the status quo in academic and medical research:

‘Because of socialization the moment you are born, your parents tell you how to conform to gender expectations. Females are socialized not to do things that are tedious. This influences even professional. You see females being discouraged from being a surgeon and encouraged to be things like pediatric dentist, dentist.’ Medicine_Male

Hopes for a changing narrative on gender inequality in research

Participants of both genders voiced increasing public discussions on gender, gender equality, gender bias and discrimination; that is making it possible for a gradual shift in gender-biased practices in the medical and dental fields. These public discussions for change are happening by female professionals who speak up and advocate for evidence-based changes to gendered practice. The active drives for gender equality in the medical and dental fields is resulting in the rising enrolment of women in medical and dental schools, despite enrolment still being largely dominated by men. Participants opined that there is a growing awareness of opportunities for women to pursue careers in medicine and dentistry:

‘I will say that I think we have more of male researchers in medical and dental, but I think the trend is changing, there is also a male dominance in leading research but that is also changing because I think there is a lot of emphasis now on balancing the gender composition of researchers and also gender balance in recruitment. I think people are now thinking in that direction but before most of the research in medical and dental field include more of male than female as researchers and study participants. Dentist Male

There were testimonies of three female medical and dental professionals being the first to hold key managerial positions. For these women, breaking the gender barrier was an effort to create the needed pathway to make it easier for other women to come on board:

‘I was the first female consultant in the department, and the first female professor in the department’. You know most at times, if you are able to cross the first few hurdles, the rest becomes easier. So, maybe I’m the sacrificial lamb of the department. Surgeon_Female

Women driving conscience for change

Participants of both genders identified that the selection criteria for many grant opportunities were biased towards women; a number of male participants felt this skew opportunity for women gave women advantages. These biased opportunities were efforts by the granting agencies to drive gender equality in the medical and dental research fields. Male and female respondents, however, opined that the opportunities were not gender biased, while one female researcher commented that the opportunities open to women are not real opportunities, as women are often not able to make the best of these opportunities:

‘…an organization that gave gender differences in the cut-off age for application of grants–the cut-off age was lower for males than females. This was because the granting agency recognized that females start a lot later than males in their research career trajectory because of their social responsibility of caring for the babies and other unpaid care duties.’ Medicine_Female

Other opportunities for female researchers identified were gender mainstreaming into the composition of research teams not only for gender equality but also to improve the quality of the research outcomes, as diverse perspectives enhance the quality of the design and implementation of research. Gender mainstreaming was identified as important for many reasons, one of which for institutional building. Also, participants identified the need to build the capacity of women to be competitive, and for gender equality advocacy and sensitization of gender-blind research institutions.

To address barriers that prevent women from gaining access to tertiary education, professional research opportunities and promotion at the same rate as men. Few female and male participants identified the need for gender-sensitive policies that mainstream gender considerations in the appointments, recruitments, selection process of female medical and dental professionals into leadership roles; gender considerations in the access to grant opportunities; and opportunities for senior female mentoring of early career (female) researchers. Such policy drives and change can be achieved through the collaborative efforts of female medical and dental professionals. A few participants in this study proposed that gender study centers should be established within medical and dental institutions; and they be saddled to handle gender related issues:

‘The establishment of gender centers will probably promote gender equality generally. They can also generate research-based evidence that can address the ‘why’, ‘how’ and the value added by promoting gender equality.’ Medicine_female

Overall, participants in this study argued for institutional policies that help to drive gender sensitivity. Data pointed to policies needing to promote gender equity at the managerial and administrative levels while focusing on skills and expertise. The opportunities should be open equitably to everybody.

The current study identified a male dominance in the research outputs of medical and dental researchers in research institutions in Nigeria. This male dominance also reflects in the inequitable distribution of managerial positions of the institutions. The gendered operations of medical and dental research institutions is driven by the absorption of the societal patriarchal values. Individuals in this study expressed a paradigm shift driven by individual and collective bodies of women in academia driving a conscience for change. Other opportunities identified to drive the change process included enacting institutional policies that promote gender equality; establishing gender focused units in research institutions dedicated to implementing these policies; continued advocacy and awareness creation for the change to happen; mentorship by women for women and for men; and building the capacity for women to actively engage with others in the research enterprise.

A benefit of these findings is that they provide a contextual and rich foundation of evidence that supports prior research on the inequitable representation of women [ 4 , 33 , 34 ]. Moreover, a focus on medical and dental research institutions has allowed a deeper exploration of contextual professional factors that may promote gender inequality in a research setting.

Indeed, participants in this study perceived gender inequality as enacted through institutionalization of societal patriarchal and androcentric values that may make domestic responsibilities and career breaks for domestic reasons have far more reaching impact on women’s research outputs, and career progression; compared to their male counterparts. It is likely that poor environmental support for research in Nigerian institutions have more impact on women than men who are less able to access sponsored opportunities for capacity development due to the need to stay home even when these opportunities are presented [ 35 ]. For the same reasons, women may be less able to take up research grant opportunities even when grants are biased towards the selection of women, because of the care responsibilities they are encumbered with. These distractions from capacity building and empowerment opportunities during early career development years are challenging to catch up with in later years of a woman’s career, which thereby increases the gender competency gap. The failure to adjudge years of home management as human managerial skills, and poor accounting of home care as work skills continue to make women fall behind in the ratings for skills to handle managerial offices.

Though institutional policies and advocacies can help to bridge these gaps, they are unlikely to be eliminated. Gender equality policies are challenging to implement, but when implemented, significant progress can be made with gender mainstreaming [ 36 ]. Gender-sensitive institutional policies in medical and dental research institutions, implemented by established gender focal units, may help to drive the shift towards gender equality in research outputs and numbers of female appointments into senior cadres. These policies will need to promote a gender sensitive review of assessment criteria for appointment and promotion. Further research is necessary to better understand how home-management skills can be rated, groomed and adapted as administrative skills. Efforts in these directions may help to eliminate the managerial position gender equality gap. This may also facilitate men in taking on home care roles in the knowing that they will not be worse-off for doing so.

Furthermore, participants’ voices pointed to continued advocacy and awareness creation. One of the roles of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria is to advocate for favorable policies for women, and they have done so successfully for many issues related to clinical practice [ 37 ]. One of which is for paid maternity leave. They have, however, achieved little in driving equality in the field of research. Women in academia may need to form pressure groups to address the issues peculiar to their needs. Pressure groups also need to partner and engage with men to promote gender equality; and advocate for new masculinities and for human rights. Advocacy seeks to narrow the gap between what is known to be effective, acceptable, and efficient and what is practiced [ 38 ]. It involves a combination of individual and social actions designed to gain political commitment, social acceptance, and system support for a particular goal or program. Though it is an effective strategy for producing policy change, it can be difficult and complex for those with limited power and resources [ 38 ]. Future work is vital for understanding how gender equality in research institutions has contributed to the attainment of the sustainable goal more generally.

While advocacy may bring about change, slowly, the mentorship of women by women and men allies in the gender equality fight could bring about substantial change in the research context [ 39 ]. Female mentors promote aspirations of other females to pursue the same career pathways through a feeling of belonging and confidence. Participants in this study reported views on mentoring actions, though, as such, are unclearly defined. The suggested efforts of reaching out to other women in medical and dental research, by those who explained that they have made it to more senior positions, can be institutionalized by research organizations, or bodies, of female professionals. The mentorship process could also facilitate building the capacity of women to actively engage with others in research enterprise. However, mentorship is a non-formal educational system that should not replicate social norms, dominant values, or drivers that could otherwise entrench inequality and disempowerment of women by reproducing existing hierarchies and exclusions [ 40 ]. Training mentors on gender-sensitive mentorship strategies may help to avoid these possible risks.

One of the strengths of the study was the recruitment of study participants from Northern and Southern Nigeria thereby reflecting the views of male and female researchers from diverse cultural context in Nigeria. The study findings are therefore potentially comparable across research institutions in Nigeria. The study is, however, not without limitations. The data collected were limited to the perception of gender inequality in medical and dental research institutions and the coding and analysis of these data were conducted within this context. Additional themes and perspectives can be derived from the content-rich narratives of the participants; and this warrants further exploration as issues surrounding gender and cultural differences in light of gender equality in medical and dental research institutions are not fully understood. Differences in the perspectives of dental and medical researchers could also be examined separately, as the experiences of these two groups may differ.

Despite these potential limitations, results from the present study do provide insights that support a feminist institutionalist perspective that societal inequality is reproduced in political and social institutions such as higher institutions of learning [ 41 ]. Understanding how context specific institutional rules, processes and norms drives the enactment of gender inequality can help with the reform and improvement of institutional gender equality programs and strategies. This study is the first study to explore how and why gender inequality is enactment in medical and dental schools in Nigeria; and therefore, provides a framework to support possible gender reforms in these institutions.

In conclusion, medical and dental researchers perceive gender inequality as enacted in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria through the entrenchment of societal, cultural and religious patriarchal values. These patriarchal values promote the low numbers of female medical and dental trainees, lower research outputs for female researchers when compared to that of male researchers, and fewer women in senior managerial positions. A lot still needs to be done to facilitate the creation of a supportive environment for female medical and dental researchers in Nigeria. This includes the development, monitoring and enforcing of newly created norms that assist in creating the needed support for gender equality. There is a necessity to establish a critical mass of gender experts in medical and dental research institutions who can design and promote effective mechanisms to promote gender equality practices in Nigeria.

Supporting information

Acknowledgments.

The authors acknowledge the contributions of the time and efforts of the participants to this study.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2023; 18(4): e0283756.

Decision Letter 0

PONE-D-22-27154A qualitative insight into researcher’s perceptions of gender inequality in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria.PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Folayan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Dec 18 2022 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at  gro.solp@enosolp . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Claudia Noemi González Brambila, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

Journal Requirements:

When submitting your revision, we need you to address these additional requirements.

1. Please ensure that your manuscript meets PLOS ONE's style requirements, including those for file naming. The PLOS ONE style templates can be found at 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=wjVg/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_main_body.pdf and 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=ba62/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_title_authors_affiliations.pdf

2. We note that the grant information you provided in the ‘Funding Information’ and ‘Financial Disclosure’ sections do not match. When you resubmit, please ensure that you provide the correct grant numbers for the awards you received for your study in the ‘Funding Information’ section."

3. Thank you for stating the following financial disclosure: 

"MOF received funding to conduct the data collection and analysis"

At this time, please address the following queries:

a) Please clarify the sources of funding (financial or material support) for your study. List the grants or organizations that supported your study, including funding received from your institution. 

b) State what role the funders took in the study. If the funders had no role in your study, please state: “The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.”

c) If any authors received a salary from any of your funders, please state which authors and which funders.

d) If you did not receive any funding for this study, please state: “The authors received no specific funding for this work.”

Please include your amended statements within your cover letter; we will change the online submission form on your behalf.

4. Thank you for stating the following in the Acknowledgments Section of your manuscript: 

"The authors acknowledge afworo that provided funding support for the data collection and analysis of this piece of work."

We note that you have provided funding information that is not currently declared in your Funding Statement. However, funding information should not appear in the Acknowledgments section or other areas of your manuscript. We will only publish funding information present in the Funding Statement section of the online submission form. 

Please remove any funding-related text from the manuscript and let us know how you would like to update your Funding Statement. Currently, your Funding Statement reads as follows: 

5. In your Data Availability statement, you have not specified where the minimal data set underlying the results described in your manuscript can be found. PLOS defines a study's minimal data set as the underlying data used to reach the conclusions drawn in the manuscript and any additional data required to replicate the reported study findings in their entirety. All PLOS journals require that the minimal data set be made fully available. For more information about our data policy, please see http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability .

Upon re-submitting your revised manuscript, please upload your study’s minimal underlying data set as either Supporting Information files or to a stable, public repository and include the relevant URLs, DOIs, or accession numbers within your revised cover letter. For a list of acceptable repositories, please see http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability#loc-recommended-repositories . Any potentially identifying patient information must be fully anonymized.

Important: If there are ethical or legal restrictions to sharing your data publicly, please explain these restrictions in detail. Please see our guidelines for more information on what we consider unacceptable restrictions to publicly sharing data: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/data-availability#loc-unacceptable-data-access-restrictions . Note that it is not acceptable for the authors to be the sole named individuals responsible for ensuring data access.

We will update your Data Availability statement to reflect the information you provide in your cover letter.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: N/A

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: • Add more papers from 2017 to 2022 in the introduction section. It should be motivated for the reader and also add unique contribution.

• Address theoretical background of the study and also add theoretical implication (Support with theories).

• Author can mention objective of the study and research gap separately which enhance quality of paper.

• Add theoretical and managerial implications

• Explain conclusion, limitation and future scope separately.

• The language of the paper needs a careful editing.

• References must follow the style as per journal

Reviewer #2: Paper looks good and I strongly believe that this paper is contributiing to the body of Knowledge. Well done!! It is interesting well organized paper. It was pleasure to review it. Thank you for the opportunity.

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article ( what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool,  https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at  gro.solp@serugif . Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Author response to Decision Letter 0

17 Jan 2023

We will like to thank the reviewers and the editor for the thorough review of this manuscript. It has helped improved the quality of the research.

1. Please ensure that your manuscript meets PLOS ONE's style requirements, including those for file naming. The PLOS ONE style templates can be found at

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/file?id=wjVg/PLOSOne_formatting_sample_main_body.pdf and

Response: this has been checked and revised accordingly

Response: This has been corrected. No grant was received for the study

3. Thank you for stating the following financial disclosure:

a) Please clarify the sources of funding (financial or material support) for your study. List the grants or organizations that supported your study, including funding received from your institution.

Response: This has been corrected. The authors received no specific funding for this work

Response: this has been done

4. Thank you for stating the following in the Acknowledgments Section of your manuscript:

We note that you have provided funding information that is not currently declared in your Funding Statement. However, funding information should not appear in the Acknowledgments section or other areas of your manuscript. We will only publish funding information present in the Funding Statement section of the online submission form.

Please remove any funding-related text from the manuscript and let us know how you would like to update your Funding Statement. Currently, your Funding Statement reads as follows:

Response: The data needed for this study can all be found in the study result section

Reviewer #1: • Add more papers from 2017 to 2022 in the introduction section. It should be motivated for the reader and also add unique contribution.

Response: A literature search was carried out prior to this resubmission and this elicited 4 new relevant studies that have been included in the introduction section

Response: Done. The Feminist institutionalism analysis approach was used for this study. See lines 102-110

Response: The final paragraphs have now been dedicated to a focused discussion relating back to the study objectives and research questions

Response: Thank you for raising this useful point. Lines 425 to 442 expand on this issue

Response: We have included two paragraphs that discuss the strengths, limitations, and future scope of the study. See Lines 425 to 442. A paragraph has also been added to the conclusion section

Response: The entire paper has been edited for style and language

Response: The manuscript has been revised to adhere to the style of the journal

Reviewer #2: Paper looks good and I strongly believe that this paper is contributiing to the body of Knowledge. Well done!! It is interesting well organized paper. It was pleasure to review it. Thank you for the opportunity.

Response: thank you for this positive feedback.

Submitted filename: Reviewers response_Plos One 3.0.docx

Decision Letter 1

16 Mar 2023

A qualitative insight into researchers' perceptions of gender inequality in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria.

PONE-D-22-27154R1

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ , click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at gro.solp@gnillibrohtua .

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact gro.solp@sserpeno .

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

6. Review Comments to the Author

Reviewer #1: Good work. I can see you have incorporated all the comments. We can go ahead with the publication now.

Reviewer #2: (No Response)

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article ( what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1:  Yes:  Nishant Agrawal

Reviewer #2:  Yes:  BIBHAV ADHIKARI

Acceptance letter

28 Mar 2023

A qualitative insight into researchers’ perceptions of gender inequality in medical and dental research institutions in Nigeria.

Dear Dr. Folayan:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact gro.solp@sserpeno .

If we can help with anything else, please email us at gro.solp@enosolp .

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Dr. Claudia Noemi González Brambila

Gender Equality: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Social Representations on Existing Practices and Dynamics in Four Municipalities of Baixo Alentejo, Portugal

• Conference paper
• First Online: 04 April 2021
• Cite this conference paper

• Lisa Ferro   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-8222 19 &
• Sandra Saúde   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0935-1133 20  

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1345))

Included in the following conference series:

• World Conference on Qualitative Research

643 Accesses

Portugal assumed gender equality as one of its strategic priorities in the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda – Sustainable Development Goals. Although strategies and actions have increased and diversified over the years, the latest official reports reveal that equality between men and women in several fields does not go beyond a formal status.

The qualitative study developed explores and characterizes the social representations of local key actors on the meaning, domains and practices and dynamics to promote gender equality in four municipalities of Baixo Alentejo, taking five local action framework documents and nine in-depth interviews as sources.

With the combined use of T-Lab and webQDA software tools (Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software), a thematic content analysis was carried out on the corpus formed by: 1) the textual sections related to gender equality contained in the documents and 2) the transcriptions of responses. The most repeated keywords were identified with T-Lab and a “word association” analysis was performed. With webQDA, the thematic content analysis was organized by categories and subcategories which allowed the structuring elements of the social representations on gender equality that emerged from the analysed corpus to be identified and interpreted.

The analysis reveals an incomplete approach to gender equality in terms of local practices and dynamics, as the intervention is mainly focused on domestic violence. Despite the normative framework and policy guidelines, most key actors lack knowledge regarding some gender equality problems and domains and fail to identify evidences of inequality, which negatively influences the implemented action plans.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime
• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Introduction: Goals, Research Questions and Comparative Framework

Gender based political violence against women in Mexico from a regional perspective

How ‘empowerment’ may miss its mark: gender equality policies and how they are understood in women’s ngos.

Labels assigned to groups of lexical units classified according to linguistic criteria (lemmatization) (Manual T-LAB PLUS, 2019, available at: https://tlab.it/en/allegati/help_en_online ).

Assembleia Constituinte: Constituição da República Portuguesa (1976). https://www.parlamento.pt/Parlamento/Documents/CRP1976.pdf . Accessed 12 Nov 2020

Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 82/2007, 22 June 2007. https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/638880/details/maximized . Accessed 20 Nov 2020

Queirós, M., Marques da Costa, N., Vieira, P., Palma, P.: Políticas de igualdade: um mundo empenhado e activo. In: Queirós, M., Marques da Costa, N., Palma, P., Caetano, G., Vieira, P. (eds.) Políticas de igualdade nas autarquias locais, pp. 23–52, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Geográficos, Universidade de Lisboa (2011)

Google Scholar  

Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 39/2010, 25 May 2010. https://dre.pt/application/conteudo/332682 . Accessed 12 Nov 2020

Lei n.º 75/2013, 12 September 2013. https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/500023/details/normal?q=Lei+n.%C2%BA%2075%2F2013%2C%2012+setembro+2013 . Accessed 12 Nov 2020

OECD: Gender and sustainable development: maximising the economic, social and environmental role of women, OCDE (2008)

UNRIC: Guia sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável: 17 objectivos para transformar o nosso mundo. (2016). https://unric.org/pt/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2019/01/SDG_brochure_PT-web.pdf . Accessed 12 Nov 2020

Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros: Relatório nacional sobre a implementação da Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (2017). https://www.cig.gov.pt/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Portugal2017.pdf . Accessed 12 Nov 2020

Castro, P.: Notas para uma leitura da teoria das representações sociais em S. Moscovi. Anál. Soc. XXXVII (164), 949–979 (2002)

Vala, J., Castro, P.: Pensamento social e representações sociais. In: Vala, J., Monteiro, M.B. (eds.) Psicologia Social, pp. 569–602, Lisbon, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (2013)

Moscovici, S.: Representações sociais: investigações em Psicologia Social. Editora Vozes Ldta, Rio de Janeiro (2003)

Crusoé, N.M.: A teoria das representações sociais em Moscovici e sua importância para a pesquisa em Educação. Aprender - Cadernos de Filosofia e Psicologia da Educação, Ano II, 2,105–114 (2004)

Jodelet, D.: Représentations sociales: un domaine en expansion. In D. Jodelet, Les représentations sociales, pp. 31–61, Paris, PUF (1989)

Beauvoir, S.D.: O segundo sexo II - a experiência vivida, São Paulo, Difusão Europeia do Livro (1967)

Comissão Europeia: A igualdade em 100 palavras - glossário de termos sobre igualdade entre homens e mulheres, Luxemburgo, Comissão Europeia (1998). https://op.europa.eu/pt/publication-detail/-/publication/7342d801-86cc-4f59-a71a-2ff7c0e04123 . Accessed 20 Nov 2020

Maciel, D.: Género e poder local (Master Thesis, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa) (2008). https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/handle/10071/998 . Accessed 01 Nov 2020

CITE: Porque é importante falar em igualdade de género atualmente? - fascículo I (2010). http://cite.gov.pt/asstscite/downloads/caritas/CadernoCaritas_Fasciculo_I.pdf . Accessed 20 Feb 2020

Silva, A.D.: Análise da dimensão de género nos recursos educativos digitais das áreas da literatura e línguas portuguesas do Portal das Escolas. In J. V. Pedroso, Género e recursos digitais, pp. 51–59, Lisboa, Ministério da Educação e Ciência (2011)

Amâncio, L., Oliveira, J.: Men as individuals, women as a sexed category: implications of symbolic asymmetry for feminist practice and feminist psychology. Feminism Psychol. 16 (1), 35–43 (2006)

Article   Google Scholar  

Alexandre, H.: Condições da administração pública para a promoção da igualdade entre mulheres e homens: atitudes e práticas de dirigentes (Master Thesis, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa) (2010). http://repap.ina.pt/handle/10782/564 . Accessed 05 March 2020

Silva, M.: A igualdade de género - caminhos e atalhos para uma sociedade inclusiva. Lisboa, Comissão para a Igualdade e para os Direitos das Mulheres (1999)

Erickson, F.: Métodos cualitativos de investigación. In: Wittrock, M.C. (ed.) La investigación de la ensenanza, Barcelona-Buenos Aires-Mexico, Paidos, pp. 195–299 (1989)

Bardin, L.: Análise de conteúdo, Lisbon, Edições 70 (2010)

Tavares, M.: Feminismos em Portugal (1947–2007) (Doctoral Thesis, Universidade Aberta) (2008). https://repositorioaberto.uab.pt/bitstream/10400.2/1346/1/Tese%20de%20doutoramento%20Manuela%20TavaresVF.pdf . Accessed 16 Feb 2020

Teixeira, A.: Desigualdades de género nos cargos políticos em Portugal: do poder central ao poder local (Doctoral Thesis, Universidade Nova de Lisboa). (2016). https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/20614 . Accessed 26 Feb 2020

CIG - COMISSÃO PARA A CIDADANIA E IGUALDADE DE GÉNERO: Igualdade de género em Portugal: indicadores-chave 2017 (2017). https://www.cig.gov.pt/2017/07/igualdade-de-genero-em-portugal-indicadores-chave-2017/ . Accessed 18 Oct 2020

Alvarez, T., Vieira, C.: O papel da educação no caminho que falta percorrer em Portugal na desconstrução dos estereótipos de género: breves reflexões, Exedra - Suplemento Sexualidade, género e educação, ISSN 1646-9526. 8–17 (2014)

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship, Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Beja, Portugal

Polytechnic Institute of Beja and CICS.NOVA (Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences), Beja, Portugal

Sandra Saúde

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Saúde .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Department of Education and Psychology, Didactics and Technology in Teacher Education (CIDTFF) Research Centre, Ludomedia and University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

António Pedro Costa

Faculty of Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Laboratory (LIACC), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Luís Paulo Reis

Department of Education and Psychology, Didactics and Technology in Teacher Education (CIDTFF) Research Centre, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

António Moreira

School of Computer Science, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Grzegorz Bryda

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Cite this paper.

Ferro, L., Saúde, S. (2021). Gender Equality: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Social Representations on Existing Practices and Dynamics in Four Municipalities of Baixo Alentejo, Portugal. In: Costa, A.P., Reis, L.P., Moreira, A., Longo, L., Bryda, G. (eds) Computer Supported Qualitative Research. WCQR 2021. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1345. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70187-1_19

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70187-1_19

Published : 04 April 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-70186-4

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-70187-1

eBook Packages : Intelligent Technologies and Robotics Intelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)

Share this paper

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings
• My Bibliography
• Collections
• Citation manager

Save citation to file

Email citation, add to collections.

• Create a new collection
• Add to an existing collection

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search, create a file for external citation management software, your rss feed.

• Search in PubMed
• Search in NLM Catalog
• Add to Search

A qualitative study of gender differences in the experiences of general surgery trainees

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of General Surgery, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: [email protected].
• 2 Department of General Surgery, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 3 University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care Data Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 4 Department of Medicine, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 5 Department of Medicine, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 6 Department of Medicine, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• PMID: 29907201
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2018.02.043

Background: Women surgeons continue to face unique challenges to professional advancement. Higher attrition rates and lower confidence among female surgical residents suggest that experiences during residency differ by gender. Few studies have investigated gender-specific experiences during training. This study identifies gender-based differences in the experiences of general surgery residents that could affect professional development.

Materials and methods: Male and female general surgery residents at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center participated in a semi-structured interview study exploring the significance of gender in training. Recurring themes were identified from transcribed interviews using inductive methods. Two individuals independently coded interviews. Themes were compared for male and female residents. Certain themes arose with greater frequency in reference to one gender over the other.

Results: Twenty-four male and eighteen female residents participated (87.5%) in the study. Fewer female residents self-identified as a "surgeon" (11.1% versus 37.5%, P < 0.001). Residents felt that patients and physicians more frequently disregarded female residents' professional role (P < 0.001). Female residents also more often mentioned perceiving aggressive behaviors from attendings and support staff (9% versus 1% and 10% versus 3%, respectively). Relative to men, women more often mentioned lack of mentorship (0% versus 8%), discomfort (4% versus 8%), feeling pressured to participate in unprofessional behaviors (2% versus 5%), and having difficulty completing tasks (5% versus 10%, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Women experience gender-based challenges during surgical training. Further investigation is needed to determine how these experiences affect professional development.

Keywords: Gender; General surgery residency; Professional identity; Self-concept.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

• Gender Differences in Utilization of Duty-hour Regulations, Aspects of Burnout, and Psychological Well-being Among General Surgery Residents in the United States. Dahlke AR, Johnson JK, Greenberg CC, Love R, Kreutzer L, Hewitt DB, Quinn CM, Engelhardt KE, Bilimoria KY. Dahlke AR, et al. Ann Surg. 2018 Aug;268(2):204-211. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002700. Ann Surg. 2018. PMID: 29462009
• Perspectives of pregnancy and motherhood among general surgery residents: A qualitative analysis. Rangel EL, Castillo-Angeles M, Changala M, Haider AH, Doherty GM, Smink DS. Rangel EL, et al. Am J Surg. 2018 Oct;216(4):754-759. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.07.036. Epub 2018 Jul 24. Am J Surg. 2018. PMID: 30072028
• Gender Bias Experiences of Female Surgical Trainees. Barnes KL, McGuire L, Dunivan G, Sussman AL, McKee R. Barnes KL, et al. J Surg Educ. 2019 Nov-Dec;76(6):e1-e14. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2019.07.024. Epub 2019 Oct 7. J Surg Educ. 2019. PMID: 31601487
• Evaluating Coding Accuracy in General Surgery Residents' Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Procedural Case Logs. Balla F, Garwe T, Motghare P, Stamile T, Kim J, Mahnken H, Lees J. Balla F, et al. J Surg Educ. 2016 Nov-Dec;73(6):e59-e63. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2016.07.017. J Surg Educ. 2016. PMID: 27886974 Review.
• Do Attending Surgeons and Residents See Eye To Eye? An Evaluation of the Accreditation Council For Graduate Medical Education Milestones in General Surgery Residency. Lyle B, Borgert AJ, Kallies KJ, Jarman BT. Lyle B, et al. J Surg Educ. 2016 Nov-Dec;73(6):e54-e58. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2016.07.004. Epub 2016 Aug 23. J Surg Educ. 2016. PMID: 27561627 Review.
• Gender diversity in pediatric surgery: academic ranks and scholarly productivity amongst pediatric surgeons. Mullis DM, Mueller C, Bonham SA, Hunt E, Uribe D, Miller H, Bianco YK. Mullis DM, et al. Front Surg. 2024 Aug 1;11:1442501. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2024.1442501. eCollection 2024. Front Surg. 2024. PMID: 39149132 Free PMC article.
• Educational challenges and opportunities for the future generation of surgeons: a scoping review. Poljo A, Sortino R, Daume D, Probst P, Billeter AT, Müller-Stich BP, Klasen JM. Poljo A, et al. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2024 Mar 4;409(1):82. doi: 10.1007/s00423-024-03270-7. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2024. PMID: 38433154
• Gender influences resident physicians' perception of an employee-to-employee recognition program: a mixed methods study. Tischendorf JS, Krecko LK, Filipiak R, Osman F, Zelenski AB. Tischendorf JS, et al. BMC Med Educ. 2024 Feb 1;24(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05083-0. BMC Med Educ. 2024. PMID: 38302913 Free PMC article.
• Surgical Education: Disparities in Education May Impact the Quality and Likelihood of Completion of Training. Ofshteyn A, Steinhagen E. Ofshteyn A, et al. Clin Colon Rectal Surg. 2023 Mar 8;36(5):315-320. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1763519. eCollection 2023 Sep. Clin Colon Rectal Surg. 2023. PMID: 37564350 Free PMC article. Review.
• Gender Disparities in Critical Care Procedure Training of Internal Medicine Residents. Olson EM, Sanborn DM, Dyster TG, Kelm DJ, Murray SG, Santhosh L, DesJardin JT. Olson EM, et al. ATS Sch. 2023 Feb 13;4(2):164-176. doi: 10.34197/ats-scholar.2022-0025OC. eCollection 2023 Jun. ATS Sch. 2023. PMID: 37538076 Free PMC article.
• Search in MeSH

LinkOut - more resources

Full text sources.

• Elsevier Science

Other Literature Sources

• scite Smart Citations
• Citation Manager

NCBI Literature Resources

MeSH PMC Bookshelf Disclaimer

The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.

• Open access
• Published: 24 August 2024

Promoting gender equity in a home visits programme: a qualitative study in Northern Nigeria

• Loubna Belaid 1 ,
• Hadiza Mudi 2 ,
• Khalid Omer 3 ,
• Yagana Gidado 2 ,
• Umaira Ansari 4 ,
• Muhammad Rilwanu 5 ,
• Neil Andersson 3 , 4 &
• Anne Cockcroft 3 , 4  

BMC Women's Health volume  24 , Article number:  469 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

46 Accesses

7 Altmetric

Metrics details

Gender inequities remain critical determinants influencing maternal health. Harmful gender norms and gender-based violence adversely affect maternal health. Gendered division of labour, lack of access to and control of resources, and limited women’s decision-making autonomy impede women’s access to maternal healthcare services. We undertook a cluster randomized controlled trial of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses in one local government area in Bauchi State, North-Eastern Nigeria. The trial demonstrated a significant improvement in maternal and child health outcomes and male knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. This paper qualitatively evaluates gender equity in the home visits programme.

The research team explored participants’ views about gender equity in the home visits programme. We conducted nine key informant interviews with policymakers and 14 gender and age-stratified focus group discussions with men and women from visited households, with women and men home visitors and supervisors, and with men and women community leaders. Analysis used an adapted conceptual framework exploring gender equity in mainstream health. A deductive thematic analysis of interviews and focus group reports looked for patterns and meanings.

All respondents considered the home visits programme to have a positive impact on gender equity, as they perceived gender equity. Visited women and men and home visitors reported increased male support for household chores, with men doing heavy work traditionally pre-assigned to women. Men increased their support for women’s maternal health by paying for healthcare and providing nutritious food. Households and community members confirmed that women no longer needed their spouses’ permission to use health services for their own healthcare. Households and home visitors reported an improvement in spousal communication. They perceived a significant reduction in domestic violence, which they attributed to the changing attitudes of both women and men due to the home visits. All stakeholder groups stressed the importance of engaging male spouses in the home visits programme.

The home visits programme, as implemented, contributed to gender equity.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Maternal mortality remains a global health problem. Every day in 2020, almost 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth [ 1 ]. Nearly 95% of maternal deaths occur in economically limited resource settings [ 1 ]. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for around 70% of maternal deaths [ 1 ].

Gender inequities are critical determinants influencing maternal health [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. A 2021 study based on secondary analysis of country-level data from 54 African countries reported that gender inequities and the availability of skilled birth attendants were the most critical social determinants explaining variations in maternal mortality across Africa [ 6 ]. Harmful gender norms such as early marriage and pregnancy, genital mutilation, and gender-based violence adversely affect maternal health [ 7 , 8 ]. Gendered division of labour, lack of access and control of resources, limited women’s autonomy, and exclusion from decision-making impede women’s access to maternal healthcare services [ 2 , 9 ].

Since the 1990s, researchers have implemented interventions involving male partners to improve maternal and child health outcomes [ 10 ]. Systematic reviews reported positive impacts of these interventions in limited-economic resource settings [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Male involvement in these interventions was mainly focused on specific barriers, such as decision-making to use health services and male attendance at antenatal care visits [ 12 , 13 ]. Other interventions emphasized men’s role as gatekeepers for women’s health or engaged them as one target group under a broader strategy to increase community involvement in maternal and child health [ 11 ]. While these interventions improved some health-seeking behaviours and increased maternal and child health services uptake, they failed to address household inequitable gender norms and dynamics [ 14 ].

Male engagement interventions shifted from tackling specific barriers to being gender-transformative [ 10 ]. “Gender transformative interventions actively examine and promote the transformation of harmful gender norms and seek to reduce inequalities between men and women to achieve desired outcomes” (p125) [ 3 ].

There is evidence of the effectiveness of gender-transformative interventions in improving reproductive health outcomes and reducing gender violence [ 3 , 10 , 15 ]. However, qualitative evidence of the perceived impact of these interventions and details of the type of activities being implemented remain limited, particularly in African settings [ 3 , 4 , 16 ]. This paper describes the methods and findings of a qualitative evaluation of gender equity in a home visits programme aiming to improve maternal and early child health.

Bauchi State in North-Eastern Nigeria has a population of around five million, extrapolating from the 2006 census. The population is predominately Muslim with Hausa ethnicity. Some 63% of women in Bauchi have no education, compared with 35% nationally. Polygyny and large family size are common. In Bauchi, the fertility rate is 7.2 children per woman [ 17 ].

The maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria is among the highest in the World, with 1047 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 [ 18 ]. The Maternal Mortality Ratio is even higher in the Northeastern region [ 19 ]. Women in Bauchi have poor access to maternal healthcare services. Only 20% give birth in a health facility, and only 46% of women receive antenatal care from a trained health worker [ 17 ]. Less than 20% participate independently or jointly in household decisions. Over 50% of ever-married women have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence committed by their current or most recent husband or partner [ 17 ].

Home visits intervention

Between 2015 and 2020, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses in eight wards (smallest administrative area) of Toro Local Government Area (LGA), Bauchi State, North-Eastern Nigeria [ 20 ].

Women home visitors visited all pregnant women every two months during their pregnancies and again after delivery, and men home visitors visited their husbands. Having women and men home visitors interact separately with the pregnant women and their male spouses followed faith-based cultural norms in Bauchi and was endorsed by religious leadership. The research team engaged with Muslim and Christian religious leaders and traditional leaders in each community, and these leaders supported the home visits programme.

The women’s home visitors visited every pregnant woman every two months during the pregnancy, and the men’s home visitors separately visited the male spouses of the pregnant women every two months. The women visitors visited every woman who gave birth within two months of the birth and again when the child was 12–18 months old.

The women and men visitors shared evidence about actionable risk factors for maternal and early child health from a recent survey in Bauchi State [ 21 ], separately from pregnant women and their spouses. The home visits significantly improved maternal and child health outcomes and male knowledge and attitudes [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Narratives of change helped to explore the experience of participants and possible mechanisms for the impact of the home visits [ 25 ].

The home visits programme deliberately aimed to increase men’s engagement in promoting maternal and child health. The risk factors for maternal health discussed in the home visits with pregnant women and their spouses included strongly gendered issues: women continuing heavy work during pregnancy, domestic violence, lack of spousal communication, and lack of knowledge (including among men) of danger signs during pregnancy and childbirth [ 13 ]. The men’s home visitors made specific arrangements to interact with the spouses of pregnant women; this often meant visiting in the evenings or at weekends when the men were home.

The programme recruited local women and men as home visitors, allowing them to earn an income and increase their social status. Women, in particular, reported earning an income as an important positive change in their lives from their involvement in the programme [ 26 ].

To support the sustainability of the home visits after the trial, the government agencies collaborating with the home visits programme at State, LGA and ward levels nominated women and men officers to work with the programme, including training to manage and monitor the home visits.

Focus group discussions and individual interviews

This qualitative study is based on focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The research team designed focus group discussions and individual interview guides (Appendix 1 ). The research team included female and male researchers from a Bauchi non-governmental organisation (NGO), representatives from the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), and male and female international researchers with over ten years of experience in community-based research in Bauchi. Six people facilitated the focus groups and/or conducted key informant interviews: three men and three women. All but one were from Bauchi and affiliated with the local organisation implementing the home visits programme. Their qualifications ranged from a higher national diploma to a medical doctor. All had training and several years of experience facilitating Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and conducting KI key informant interviews. All of them were engaged in implementing the home visits programme and believed in its aims of improving maternal and child health by supporting households in taking action to reduce risk factors. They had no relationship with the participants before the study other than through their engagement in the home visits programme.

A technical working group from the research team drafted the instruments, and the project steering committee approved them. The team refined the guides using an iterative process. After each interview/focus group discussion, the team met to discuss how it went and refine questions to increase clarity if necessary. The guides covered how the visits addressed gender equity, perceptions of the programme, data monitoring about equitable coverage of the programme, capacity-building, challenges and opportunities in home visit implementation, and strengths and weaknesses of the programme. In this paper, we focus specifically on views about the gender equity aspects of the home visits programme.

Focus group discussions and individual interviews took place in August and September 2020.

The team used a purposive sampling strategy to recruit stakeholder participants [ 27 ]. The stakeholder groups were women and men from the households who received the home visits, community leaders involved in facilitating the programme in their communities, home visitors, supervisors of home visitors, and senior government officers.

The team liaised with the Toro Local Government Authority (LGA) coordinators and the ward focal persons to select stakeholders for the community focus groups. First, they selected three communities, one each from an urban, rural, and remote group of communities in the six wards. For each community, the team asked the ward focal person to invite women and their spouses who had received home visits during the project and were available and willing to spare time to participate. The focus group discussions took place in private and quiet spaces, often classrooms in primary schools.

Table  1 shows details of the focus groups and the number of participants in each group. Fourteen focus group discussions occurred in eight urban, six rural, and four rural-remote communities. They included ten gender and age-segregated groups of women (four) and men (six) from households that had received home visits, two groups of community leaders (male and female), and two groups of home visitors (male and female). The mean age was 49.3 years across the three older male groups, while the mean age across the three younger male groups was 27.7 years. The mean age was 39.7 years for the older women groups and 21.8 years for the younger women groups.

Two further focus groups covered supervisors from Toro LGA and the State level. Most of the supervisors at the LGA level were ward focal points (part-time government workers at this local level), while most of those at the State level were from the BSPHCDA.

Local facilitators (female and male) conducted the focus group discussions in the Hausa language. They are well-trained in qualitative research, have worked with the team on several projects, and understand the home visits programme well. A trained reporter took detailed notes during each meeting and sat with the facilitator after the meeting to produce a report in English. Facilitators did not audio-record the focus groups. Detailed notes by well-trained field workers are an effective approach to reporting focus group discussions [ 28 ].

The local skilled research team conducted nine interviews with senior government officers associated with the home visits programme. The interview guide covered government health priorities, the government’s role in designing and implementing the home visits programme, perceived equity in program coverage, data monitoring to support equity, capacity building, and gender equity. They telephoned to invite the officers to participate, and the interviews usually took place in their offices. The discussions were in English, and the interviewers took detailed notes and prepared a report after each interview.

One additional focus group included members of the local research team who implemented and managed the home visits programme. The discussion focused on their experience implementing the programme and their views on its perceived impact on gender equity. The first author (LB), external to the project, facilitated the discussion.

Only the researchers and the participants were present during the focus group discussions and the key informant interviews. The team encountered no participant refusals to join these discussions and interviews. We did not return the transcripts to the participants. Data saturation was achieved from the focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The interviews and focus groups ranged from one to two hours.

Analysis of focus group and interview reports and strategies for trustworthiness

The first author (a female of North African descent, external to the home visits project) and one female team member from Bauchi (HM), both experienced in qualitative research, conducted a deductive thematic analysis of the focus group and individual interview reports, following the steps proposed by Braun and Clarke [ 29 ]. They read all the texts, identified and clustered themes related to gender outcomes, and organized them into categories and subcategories to look for meanings and patterns.

In this paper, we understand gender as a multidimensional concept. It refers to “the characteristics of women, men, girls, and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other” [ 30 ]. We adapted a gender analysis framework [ 31 ], which captures gender dimensions and has been widely used in mainstream health [ 2 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. We used this framework to explore how the home visits programme affected gender norms and dynamics. It included the following items: (i) division of labour, (ii) access to resources, (iii) decision-making, and (iv) values (social norms, ideologies, beliefs). In this paper, values were not analysed as an independent category but throughout the other categories. The framework positions gender as power relations negotiated about resource access, division of labour, social norms and decision-making [ 2 ] (Table 2 ). Appendix 2 describes the coding trees used to conduct the thematic analysis for each participant group (Appendix 2 : coding trees).

In addition to these dimensions from the gender analysis framework, we explored in the focus group and interview reports views about lack of spousal communication, heavy work in pregnancy and gender violence during pregnancy. These factors were identified as actionable factors associated with maternal morbidity in a survey in Bauchi conducted before the co-design and implementation of the home visits programme [ 21 ].

Several strategies increased trustworthiness [ 36 ]. We used validated methods for data collection (individual interviews, focus group discussions) and analysis (deductive thematic analysis). We triangulated findings by data sources (community members, community leaders, home visitors, supervisors, and senior government officers). We did not do a member-checking exercise with the participants; however, we discussed the findings with government officers in Bauchi.

To increase transferability, we describe the stakeholders and the study context. The researchers examined their biases, assumptions, beliefs, and suppositions that might affect their interpretation of findings to increase conformability. Some local research team members were involved in the home visit programmes. The team explained to the participants that the study’s objective is to understand their views on the home visit programmes and improve them if necessary. In reporting the study, we followed the 32-item COREQ checklist for reporting qualitative research (appendix 3).

We present the results according to the adapted conceptual framework. The results between the stakeholder groups converged.

Perceived gender equity effects of the programme

Policymakers appreciated that the programme engaged men and women and targeted husbands and wives in the home visits. They felt this created equitable maternal and child health awareness and maintained a gender-sensitive approach. By targeting husbands and wives, maternal health is no longer seen as a woman’s problem but rather a family issue in which husbands have a role to play. Previous maternal and child health programmes engaged only women leaving behind husbands. “Previously , the focus has been more on women alone , with a misunderstanding that health is a women’s issue (male , policymaker #9).

Division of labour: men’s participation in household work

Visited men and women and home visitors and supervisors believed the home visits led to more male support in household work. Groups described a cultural shift in gender division of labour. They described men doing heavy work traditionally pre-assigned to women, such as fetching and carrying water, collecting firewood, farming, and carrying harvest products. They noted that men had begun to participate in sweeping the house, washing clothes, and bathing children. “Yes , it provides changes; we even support them in sweeping , washing , and fetching water. Men do that due to the knowledge they receive from the home visitors. (FGD#10 , male youth , rural community).

In a particular community, participants raised a change in gender norms. In this community, male children used to not go to the market. With the home visits, male children go with their pregnant mothers to the market. This has changed the socialization of boys. " There is one of the settlements where male children are traditionally not sent to the market because they would be fathers of their households in the future. But with these home visits , this traditional belief has been abandoned. Male children are now supporting their pregnant mothers with heavy work and are being sent to the market” (FGD#4 , male home visitor) .

Groups reported that men were more involved in women’s healthcare. They go with their wives to the health facility for antenatal care and monitor the pregnancy’s progress. “ It helped us; some husbands are now escorting their pregnant wives to the clinic following the home visits interaction. We closely monitor the progress of the pregnancy with our wives and jointly take action (FGD#10 , male youth , rural community).

Female groups explained that women also got support from their co-wives and family during pregnancy. “Husbands and family members are really assisting women with heavy work during pregnancy” (FGD#6, female, rural/remote).

Access to resources: men increase financial support and assist women’s businesses

Groups considered men more willing to provide for their families after the visits. They paid medical bills and provided nutritious food. In Bauchi, gender norms are influenced by the Islamic faith, in which men are required to be the financial providers for their families. The home visits programme did not attempt to change this gender norm.

“The husbands , being the decision makers and financial providers , now give the women money to take care of their health needs and the health needs of their children”. (FGD#8 , young women , urban community)

Some groups pointed out that women who generate their own income sometimes pay medical bills, and their spouses reimburse them. Since the home visits, the husbands have been more willing to pay the medical bills. “Some of the women pay-out (med-bill) and later the husband pays them back when they get[money]” (FGD# 10 , young male , rural community) .

Home visit supervisors noted that the home visits led husbands to support their wives in their businesses: “The husbands have started empowering women financially by giving them money to start a business “( FGD#2 supervisors) .

Women’s participation in decision-making

Groups suggested that the home visits had increased women’s role as decision-makers for their own and their children’s health. They confirmed that, since the home visits, women do not need their spouses’ permission to use health services for themselves and their children.

They emphasized the importance of letting their spouses use health services early to prevent complications. “Husbands are now allowing pregnant women to visit the health facility for antenatal care. This was not the case before (FGD#7 , female , adult , urban community).

On the other hand, participants in some focus groups considered it important that the programme engaged men and their wives equally because men are the decision-makers in their households. They did not envisage a change in the role of women in decision-making. “Both men and women were involved; involving men is the biggest strength of the home visits program because men are the main decision-makers in their homes , so no one is left out.” (FGD#2 , supervisors) .

Spousal communication

After the home visits, groups highlighted improved spousal communication. Women could speak and express their needs freely, and they felt more confident. Men improved their capacity to listen to their spouses.

“The men are very supportive of their wives. They take time to listen to their problems and proffer solutions to the best of their ability” (FGD#5 , female , youth , rural community) .

“Women are more confident to talk to their spouses about pregnancy and child health issues. The home visits have enabled women and their husbands to make an informed decision on the best time to get pregnant or space their children” (FGD#5 , female , youth , rural community) .

Domestic violence during pregnancy

With no exception, all the groups perceived a significant reduction in domestic violence. Some male groups proposed average rates from 80 to 90% of domestic violence reduction in their communities. Some male groups labelled domestic violence as “an old-fashioned” way to do. Domestic violence is considered now as something shameful. They all attributed the reduction in domestic violence to the changing attitudes of both women and men due to the programme.

Many male groups felt that the programme made men more mature, taking their responsibilities more seriously toward their spouses and children. “Now men have stopped all kinds of “I don’t care” attitudes by providing basic needs to the house. They are now taking care of all their responsibilities. If you recall , before the home visits , a person who was always beating his wives was recognized as a warrior who did not tolerate the wrongs of women , but now it is considered taboo in this community. The attitude of men in the community has been changed as the members are no longer allowing anybody to do so [beat his wife] and go free” (FGD#12 , male , youth , urban community) .

Supervisors and visitors’ groups pointed out that the videos visitors showed during the home visits stimulated positive auto-reflections of men on their attitudes towards their spouses: “The videos have helped men realize their mistakes and change their attitudes. For instance , some men [in households] gave examples of themselves doing exactly what the man in the domestic violence video does to his wife. They said that the video portrays exactly what is happening in their homes and the communities” (FGD#2 supervisors) .

The programme had a positive ripple effect on co-wives’ relationships and the community. Women-visited groups attribute this change to the home visits. “There is no more fighting among co-wives and family members , and there are no more fights between neighbours. There is a great improvement in the people’s tolerance level in our community” (FGD#8 , visited female urban group).

The Bauchi programme’s impact on gender outcomes went beyond expectations. It has been transformative in several ways. The programme addressed key gender issues. In particular, focus groups of stakeholders stressed how the visits increased spousal communication, consistent with the growing evidence of the value of engaging men in maternal and child health. A 2018 systematic review found that interventions involving men increased couples’ communication about sexually transmitted diseases, family planning, and children’s health [ 11 ]. A cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a gender-transformative intervention on intimate partner violence and HIV prevention reported an increase in spousal communication on sexual health in Ethiopia [ 37 ]. The intervention consisted of 14 participatory and skills-building sessions led by same-sex facilitators to assist participants in identifying and transforming power imbalances within their relationships and building skills for healthy, nonviolent, and equitable relationships [ 37 ].

The home visits programme reduced heavy work during pregnancy, which confirms findings from several studies. A participatory community-based intervention in rural Andhra Pradesh observed increases in the proportion of men supporting their partners by completing housework during pregnancy. Compared with the baseline, significantly more women at the end-point reported reducing housework while pregnant (54% at baseline vs. 76% at the end-point) [ 38 ]. A 2018 cluster randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of a transformative gender intervention on promoting maternal and child health in Rwanda reported higher levels of men’s participation in childcare and household tasks (washing clothes, cooking, cleaning). A 2020 cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating a participatory, gender-transformative intimate partner violence and HIV prevention intervention improved household task-sharing in Ethiopia [ 37 ].

The Bauchi home visits contributed to reducing domestic violence, as previously reported as a quantitative finding [ 22 ] and supported by the conclusions of this qualitative study. This is in line with other recent reports. A 2023 systematic review of interventions based on social and psychological empowerment approaches reported a reduction in gender-based violence against women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa [ 15 ]. The cluster randomized controlled trial in Rwanda found that women in the intervention group reported less past-year physical and sexual intimate partner violence [ 10 ].

The Bauchi home visits programme helped women have a say in decision-making regarding health issues, confirming findings from other studies. A qualitative study in rural Burkina Faso found free obstetric care meant women no longer needed to negotiate for money to pay for obstetric care, reducing delays in access to care. However, women did not report an increase in decision making about contraceptive use [ 39 ]. A study in Northern Uganda reported similar findings. While the intervention improved health-seeking behaviours, women still lacked control over financial and fertility decisions [ 40 ]. In these studies, the programmes did not address gender dynamics around finance or contraception; they did not involve male partners. The Bauchi home visits programme did not specifically intend to increase women’s decision-making power but rather to create a culturally safe environment for joint decisions and ultimately empower both spouses to tackle actionable risk factors for maternal and child health. This focus on joint decision-making is similar to that in the intervention in Rwanda, where the authors reported that “joint decision-making through skills-based activities and by creating spaces for couple communication, the intervention successfully targeted underlying, unequal gendered power dynamics” (p14) [ 10 ].

The participatory approach underlying the programme contributed to the positive changes reported. During the visits, home visitors discussed local risk factors, asking women and men in the households what could be done and what was being done in the home to reduce the risk factors rather than suggesting pre-determined actions. Home visits probably increased critical consciousness, an essential mechanism to target reproductive health outcomes successfully [ 4 ].

Gender norms also matter in delivering programmes. In the home visits programme, male home visitors perceived their involvement as a good way to engage spouses, and policymakers saw the recruitment of both women and men home visitors as increasing the programme’s acceptability, which aligns with the literature. A formative study on maternal nutrition in Burkina Faso reported that women preferred to receive visits from a female community health worker [ 41 ]. In Tanzania, a study assessed gender differentials in a home visits programme in maternal and child health and reported that men were more comfortable discussing sexual and reproductive concerns with male rather than female community health workers. Women were likely to disclose pregnancies earlier to female community health workers. Respondents also reported that having female and male community health workers helped address gender issues in community health workers’ acceptance [ 42 ]. Male community health workers were seen to be critical in reaching out to husbands [ 42 ]. An intervention in Rwanda paired female and male community health workers to make household visits to men and women in the community, motivated by cultural norms and concerns for women’s safety when travelling between communities [ 43 ].

Limitations

Translation from Hausa to English likely lost some nuances of meaning in the focus group discussion reports. We did not audio record the focus group discussions or interviews. We do not consider this is necessarily a limitation. We agree with Rutakumwa et al. [ 28 ] that notes from well-trained and experienced reporters can be at least as good as audio recording in capturing the key contents and contexts of focus group discussions and key informant interviews. In Bauchi, the research team carefully trained focus group facilitators and reporters. The role of the reporter is at least as important as that of the facilitator. After each focus group, the facilitator and reporter sat together to finalize the fair report of the session.

Using a deductive thematic analysis may constrain researchers from searching only for preconceived categories or themes, potentially overlooking important emergent patterns or nuances in the data. We acknowledge this limitation. This study examined how the home visits programme influenced gender norms and dynamics in Bauchi. We used a framework as a guideline to ensure we captured the key gender dimensions in mainstream health. The framework selected has been used in many studies focusing on maternal and child health in settings similar to that in Bauchi [ 2 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. We recognize that our findings are context-specific and may not be transferable to other settings.

Conclusions

The qualitative evidence in this study suggests that the Bauchi home visits programme has been gender transformative. It addressed key gendered issues such as spousal communication and heavy work during pregnancy. The programme fostered critical examination of the harmful practice of gendered domestic violence and promoted more equitable gender norms related to the division of labour and, perhaps, to decision-making. The participatory approach underlying the programme increased critical consciousness, an essential mechanism to successfully target maternal health outcomes.

Data availability

The data sets are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

WHO. Maternal Mortality WHO. 2023.

Morgan R, Tetui M, Muhumuza Kananura R, Ekirapa-Kiracho E, George AS. Gender dynamics affecting maternal health and health care access and use in Uganda. Health Policy Plann. 2017;32(suppl5):v13–21.

Article   Google Scholar  

Kraft JM, Wilkins KG, Morales GJ, Widyono M, Middlestadt SE. An Evidence Review of Gender-Integrated Interventions in Reproductive and maternal-child health. J Health Communication. 2014;19(sup1):122–41.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Levy JK, Darmstadt GL, Ashby C, Quandt M, Halsey E, Nagar A, et al. Characteristics of successful programmes targeting gender inequality and restrictive gender norms for the health and wellbeing of children, adolescents, and young adults: a systematic review. Lancet Global Health. 2020;8(2):e225–36.

Taukobong HFG, Kincaid MM, Levy JK, Bloom SS, Platt JL, Henry SK, et al. Does addressing gender inequalities and empowering women and girls improve health and development programme outcomes? Health Policy Plann. 2016;31(10):1492–514.

Sanni Y, Seun Stephen A, Sunday AA. Disparities in pregnancy-related deaths: spatial and bayesian network analyses of maternal mortality ratio in 54 African countries. BMJ Global Health. 2021;6(2):e004233.

Yaya S, Odusina EK, Bishwajit G. Prevalence of child marriage and its impact on fertility outcomes in 34 sub-saharan African countries. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2019;19(1):33.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Raj A, Boehmer U. Girl child marriage and its association with national rates of HIV, maternal health, and infant mortality across 97 countries. Violence against Women. 2013;19(4):536–51.

Hay K, McDougal L, Percival V, Henry S, Klugman J, Wurie H, et al. Disrupting gender norms in health systems: making the case for change. Lancet. 2019;393(10190):2535–49.

Doyle K, Levtov RG, Barker G, Bastian GG, Bingenheimer JB, Kazimbaya S, et al. Gender-transformative bandebereho couples’ intervention to promote male engagement in reproductive and maternal health and violence prevention in Rwanda: findings from a randomized controlled trial. PLoS ONE. 2018;13(4):e0192756.

Tokhi M, Comrie-Thomson L, Davis J, Portela A, Chersich M, Luchters S. Involving men to improve maternal and newborn health: a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions. PLoS ONE. 2018;13(1):e0191620.

Suandi D, Williams P, Bhattacharya S. Does involving male partners in antenatal care improve healthcare utilisation? Systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature from low- and middle-income countries. Int Health. 2020;12:484–98.

Yargawa J, Leonardi-Bee J. Male involvement and maternal health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Epidemiol Commun Health. 2015;69(6):604–12.

Comrie-Thomson L, Tokhi M, Ampt F, Portela A, Chersich M, Khanna R, et al. Challenging gender inequity through male involvement in maternal and newborn health: critical assessment of an emerging evidence base. Cult Health Sex. 2015;17(Suppl 2sup2):S177–89.

Keith T, Hyslop F, Richmond R. A systematic review of interventions to reduce gender-based violence among women and girls in Sub-saharan Africa. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2023;24(3):1443–64.

Gram L, Fitchett A, Ashraf A, Daruwalla N, Osrin D. Promoting women’s and children’s health through community groups in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods systematic review of mechanisms, enablers and barriers. BMJ Global Health. 2019;4(6):1–17.

National Population Commission. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018, Key Indicators Report Abuja, Nigeria, Rockville, Maryland, USA; 2018.

WHO. Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. Geneva World Health Organization; 2023.

Kabo I, Otolorin E, Williams E, Orobaton N, Abdullahi H, Sadauki H, et al. Monitoring maternal and newborn health outcomes in Bauchi State, Nigeria: an evaluation of a standards-based quality improvement intervention. Int J Qual Health Care. 2016;28(5):566–72.

Cockcroft A, Omer K, Gidado Y, Gamawa AI, Andersson N. Impact of universal home visits on maternal and infant outcomes in Bauchi state, Nigeria: protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Health Serv Res. 2018;18(1):510.

Andersson N, Omer K, Caldwell D, Dambam MM, Maikudi AY, Effiong B, et al. Male responsibility and maternal morbidity: a cross-sectional study in two Nigerian states. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11(2):S7.

Cockcroft A, Omer K, Gidado Y, Baba MC, Aziz A, Ansari U, et al. The impact of universal home visits with pregnant women and their spouses on maternal outcomes: a cluster randomised controlled trial in Bauchi State, Nigeria. BMJ Global Health. 2019;4(1):e001172–e.

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Omer K, Joga A, Dutse U, Hasan K, Aziz A, Ansari U, et al. Impact of universal home visits on child health in Bauchi State, Nigeria: a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):1085.

Cockcroft A, Omer K, Gidado Y, Baba M, Aziz A, Ansari U et al. Universal home visits improve male knowledge and attitudes about maternal and child health in Bauchi State, Nigeria: secondary outcome analysis of a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial. J Global Health. 2022;12.

Belaid L, Ansari U, Omer K, Gidado Y, Baba MC, Daniel LE, et al. I had to change my attitude: narratives of most significant change explore the experience of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Archives Public Health. 2021;79(1):202.

Belaid L, Ansari U, Omer K, Gidado Y, Chadi Baba M, Ezekiel Daniel L, et al. I had to change my attitude: narratives of change explore the experience of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses in Bauchi State, Nigeria. BMC Archives of Public Health (under review); 2021.

Robinson OC. Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: a theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative Res Psychol. 2014;11(1):25–41.

Rutakumwa R, Mugisha JO, Bernays S, Kabunga E, Tumwekwase G, Mbonye M, et al. Conducting in-depth interviews with and without voice recorders: a comparative analysis. Qualitative Res. 2020;20(5):565–81.

Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3.

WHO. Gender and health. Geneva: WHO

Morgan R, George A, Ssali S, Hawkins K, Molyneux S, Theobald S. How to do (or not to do)… gender analysis in health systems research. Health Policy Plann. 2016;31(8):1069–78.

Kalindi AM, Houle B, Smyth BM, Chisumpa VH. Gender inequities in women’s access to maternal health care utilisation in Zambia: a qualitative analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023;23(1):755.

Garrison-Desany HM, Wilson E, Munos M, Sawadogo-Lewis T, Maïga A, Ako O, et al. The role of gender power relations on women’s health outcomes: evidence from a maternal health coverage survey in Simiyu region, Tanzania. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):909.

Alhaffar M, Hamid A, Douedari Y, Howard N. 'We are trying to live in a normal way, but nothing is normal about us anymore: a qualitative study of women’s lived experiences of healthcare in opposition-controlled areas of Syria. BMJ Glob Health. 2022;7(7).

Udenigwe O, Okonofua FE, Ntoimo LFC, Yaya S. Understanding gender dynamics in mHealth interventions can enhance the sustainability of benefits of digital technology for maternal healthcare in rural Nigeria. Front Glob Womens Health. 2022;3:1002970.

Morse MJ. Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qual Health Res. 2015;25(9):1212–22.

Sharma V, Leight J, Verani F, Tewolde S, Deyessa N. Effectiveness of a culturally appropriate intervention to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV transmission among men, women, and couples in rural Ethiopia: findings from a cluster-randomized controlled trial. PLoS Med. 2020;17(8):e1003274.

Sinha D. Empowering communities to make pregnancy safer: an intervention in rural Andhra Pradesh. New Delhi:: Population Council; 2008.

Book   Google Scholar  

Samb OM, Ridde V. The impact of free healthcare on women’s capability: a qualitative study in rural Burkina Faso. Soc Sci Med. 2018;197:9–16.

Belaid L, Ochola E, Bayo P, Alii GW, Ogwang M, Greco D, et al. Exploring the impact of a community participatory intervention on women’s capability: a qualitative study in Gulu Northern Uganda. BMC Womens Health. 2021;21(1):28.

Isler J, Sawadogo NH, Harling G, Bärnighausen T, Adam M, Sié A, et al. If he sees it with his own eyes, he will understand’: how gender informed the content and delivery of a maternal nutrition intervention in Burkina Faso. Health Policy Plan. 2020;35(5):536–45.

Feldhaus I, Silverman M, LeFevre AE, Mpembeni R, Mosha I, Chitama D, et al. Equally able, but unequally accepted: gender differentials and experiences of community health volunteers promoting maternal, newborn, and child health in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Int J Equity Health. 2015;14(1):70.

USAID. Developing and strengthening community health worker programs at scale: a reference guide for program managers and policy makers. USA Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program. MCHIP) United States Agency for International Development; 2013.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the fieldworkers who collected the data and the women and men who generously shared their views on the programme.

The study was funded by the Réseau en Recherche de la Santé des populations of Québec (RRSPQ) under the programme : Soutien à des initiatives structurantes (IS) en santé mondiale conduites par des stagiaires postdoctoraux. The funding body had no role in the study’s design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript. We thank the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for supporting the costs of the article processing charge.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

École Nationale d’Administration Publique, Montreal, Canada

Loubna Belaid

Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Bauchi, Nigeria

Hadiza Mudi & Yagana Gidado

Community Information for Empowerment and Transparency-PRAM, Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Khalid Omer, Neil Andersson & Anne Cockcroft

Centro de Investigácion de Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Umaira Ansari, Neil Andersson & Anne Cockcroft

Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Bauchi, Nigeria

Muhammad Rilwanu

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

AC and NA designed the home visits programme and the cluster randomized controlled trial. AC, NA, YG, HM, MR, KO and UA and implemented the home visits programme. LB, AC, KO, YG, UA, and HM designed the qualitative evaluation study. LB and AC drafted the manuscript. KO, UA, YG, and HM collected the data and supervised the community focus group discussions. HM, KO, YG and UA contributed to reporting the data. LB, HM, and AC analyzed the qualitative data. LB, NA, AC, KO, YG, UA, HM, and MR participated in intellectual content analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Loubna Belaid .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The Bauchi State Ministry of Health gave ethical approval for the study (NREC/12/05/2013/2017/21). The McGill University Faculty of Medicine IRB gave ethical approval (A09-B60-17B). The participants gave oral informed consent. Both ethical committees approved the use of oral informed consent, agreeing that the study was minimal risk and recognizing the low adult literacy in the study area.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary Material 1

Supplementary material 2, supplementary material 3, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Belaid, L., Mudi, H., Omer, K. et al. Promoting gender equity in a home visits programme: a qualitative study in Northern Nigeria. BMC Women's Health 24 , 469 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03293-8

Download citation

Received : 25 August 2023

Accepted : 06 August 2024

Published : 24 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03293-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Gender equity
• Universal home visits programme
• Maternal health

BMC Women's Health

ISSN: 1472-6874

• General enquiries: [email protected]

• Open access
• Published: 23 August 2024

Tackling gender disparities in energy research: a diagnostic tool for equality in research centres

• Sara Sánchez-López 1 ,
• Rocío Poveda-Bautista 1 ,
• Carmen Corona-Sobrino 2 ,
• Paula Otero-Hermida 1 &
• Mónica García-Melón 1  

Energy, Sustainability and Society volume  14 , Article number:  51 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

37 Accesses

Metrics details

In a case study in Spain, the unequal proportion of men and women in a research organization in the energy sector is severe, and long-established dynamics that might determine differences in access to leadership positions and inequalities in research careers are evident. The gender gap in historically masculinized fields, such as energy engineering reflects more than simply the differences in male and female values and personalities. This study seeks to explore the gender gap in energy research centres and to identify barriers that potentially hinder the research careers of women. It proposes the development of a diagnostic tool, based upon indicators, to monitor and evaluate gender roles and inequalities in the management of research centres for identifying and addressing the dynamics and obstacles that hinder women's progress in the energy sector and their potential contribution to the field. This participatory multicriteria-based tool prioritizes the proposed indicators by their influence and importance in the context of energy research and applies it to the monitoring of a specific Spanish energy research centre.

The results are threefold: (i) the methodology is adaptable to different research centres; (ii) the analysis of indicators’ prioritization could lead to recommendations that should be addressed first; (iii) the diagnostic tool used in this in-depth case study of an energy research centre in Spain allowed results to be achieved in terms of gender dynamics. Two indicators stand out as the most relevant in our analysis: gender diversity in leadership positions and uncomplicated application of work–life balance measures. In this case study, the measurement of the first indicator has drawn unsatisfactory results, and the research of the latter is considered still insufficient. In conclusion, this difference becomes a vicious or negative circle for attracting and retaining more women to the research centre. Despite these results, no gender gap seems to be recognized and thus, no measures are being taken to improve the situation.

Conclusions

Comprehensive data and contextualized monitoring are necessary to effectively study and enhance the presence and participation of women in the energy science sector. This approach, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques, is suitable for any research centre that would like to monitor its gender gap, identify potential sources of inequity and address them.

Globally, the limited access to energy disproportionately affects women [ 1 ] and highlights the importance of considering gender in discussions about fair energy distribution and its role in development [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Despite this, the energy sector remains predominantly male-dominated. Not only do women face greater difficulties in accessing energy resources, but they also “continue to be an unrealized potential asset for the development of the energy sector” [ 6 ].

Women bring distinct economic and social capitals to the table [ 7 ], and lack of gender balance might not only be a matter of fairness and social justice, but could also be detrimental to innovative research. The involvement of women in the field of energy, and particularly in the context of sustainability [ 6 , 8 , 9 ], has been identified as pivotal for addressing emerging future advances, governance structures, and frameworks through which we might tackle the required issues, among others [ 10 ]. However, their participation remains limited not only to energy production, but also to the development of alternative consumption and production patterns [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. This similarly occurs in the production of knowledge within the field where only 15.7 percent of energy scholarship authors have been women [ 13 ].

It is widely argued that one of the problems in an area like engineering or energy is the low number of women students. At a macro level, focusing on the case of Spain, where the study case is located, the proportion of women researchers in Spanish universities is 43.67% [ 14 ]. However, the main problem lies in the unequal distribution according to career progression, with only 25.6% of women reaching the highest category (full professor) and even more at the study phase. In the field of engineering, for instance, only 9% women are to be found in the highest category. In addition, only 52.4% of women have attained permanent positions in the system [ 14 ].

At the meso-level of the university institution examined, 31.98% of the staff are women [ 15 ], of which only 30% have attained permanent positions. In the area of engineering, this percentage drops to 21.39% of women researchers with permanent contracts [ 15 ]. Regarding the presence of women in public research centres in Spain, only 26.8% of women hold a permanent position working in the field of “natural resources”, which includes the energy sector [ 16 ]. This figure improves substantially in the initial categories with 57.7% of doctoral students being women [ 16 ]. Furthermore, in the case of the Spanish energy sector, only 22.2% of Spain’s scientific production on renewable energies in 2022 was led by women researchers [ 17 ].

While a significant body of literature and diverse approaches to addressing the scarcity of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are available, a notable gap in the case of the energy sector is evident [ 10 , 13 , 18 ]. The presence and participation of women in the field of energy have been studied in boards and management groups of large energy companies [ 19 ], in decision-making processes in the renewable energy sector [ 20 ] or in energy policymaking [ 12 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, gender roles and inequalities in the management of research energy centres aimed to address the gender gap remain unexplored in the scientific literature, and our study is the first that seeks to specifically address the monitoring of energy research centres.

Monitoring the gender gap in science: contextualization and indicators used at the organizational level

In Europe, gender gap monitoring in science, research and innovation is highly directed by European Union (EU) approaches. Specifically, the Strategic Vision of the European Research Area has set as a goal for 2030 that half of all scientific personnel, in all disciplines and at all levels of the scientific system, should be women. The aim is to break the horizontal and vertical segregation that currently exists in European science, especially in historically masculinized fields like energy [ 21 ]. Thus, EU members such as Spain have advanced legislation in this area to achieve the Strategic Vision of the European Research Area.

The indicators used to monitor policies in European reports, such as She Figures and their counterpart reports in Spain, tend to focus primarily on providing numbers of men and women. Therefore, despite its relevance, they have scarce information on how gender dynamics work in scientific and innovative working environments, where personnel perform their functions and interact on a daily basis [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].

The meso-organizational level is key in the “quality of equality” which means that inclusion is not merely having women but where—in which areas, in which roles—and how are they included [ 25 ] is essential; and where—without this information, it is not possible to understand why, for instance, many women leave engineering careers or whether women or other underrepresented collectives in the discipline have a similar wellbeing status.

The organizational level includes crucial issues for equal access and quality such as staff awareness of equality measures, the distribution of tasks and responsibilities, management of projects, recognition, work culture, work–life balance culture, and use of time or personnel selection. At this level, there is a concentration of conditioning factors to accumulate merits in a markedly meritocratic science system. In this context, which is depicted as neutral and universal within the meritocratic system, it becomes clear that the system is vulnerable to gender dynamics which apparently affects objective processes such as hiring and promotion [ 26 ] or the definition of academic excellence [ 27 ].

The organizational level is crucial in science development and the lack of indicators may result from intrinsic difficulties in gender monitoring. Monitoring is usually a synonym for quantitative approaches which often tends to focus on public information like how many of each sex are to be found. On the other hand, gender dynamics are difficult to capture without perception and other qualitative indicators [ 28 ] which are more difficult to operationalize, and which often require the preparation of surveys or choosing other methods like organizing focus groups to gather primary data. However, the effort can be worthwhile considering that monitoring is not unambiguous in its use and that indicators are not equally relevant. Monitoring can be applied to control policy development, distribute funding, compare organizations, or check the advance of some implemented measures, for instance. Those purposes and the ultimate justification, such as social justice or achieving efficiency, determine institutional logics that affected the final use of monitoring and resulted in different indicator panels which also reflects a different understanding of the issue that is monitored [ 23 ].

Measuring gender at the organizational level pursues some primary goals: diagnosis and learning. However, indicators receive their significance from institutional practices [ 29 ]. Thus, contextualized monitoring through gathering secondary and primary data, both quantitative and qualitative, is crucial and it becomes essential to go beyond “counting heads” [ 30 ] to understand not only the number of women present in energy research centres, but also the dynamics that hinder the development of women’s careers in these areas, i.e. the distribution of tasks, management, projects, and recognition. In Europe, gender gap indicators are focused on policy monitoring at the national level, while the organizational level still needs to be developed, which is another challenge to be addressed [ 23 ].

Contextualization or context-sensitive monitoring implies a better understanding of different levels as the centre and the research system provides in regards to the conditions of understanding research excellence, access to positions or research funding. This requires expert integration in the monitoring process, to interpret the relevance and cross-influence of the indicators, as is given in more detail in the methods part. Thus, it is crucial to include the context where gendered energy research takes place and to provide a systemic contextualization [ 12 ].

We developed a tool based upon performance indicators to monitor and evaluate gender roles and inequalities in research centres. The tool provides feedback to the literature review and quantitative and qualitative inputs at the organizational level which is a sensible step within the overall gender and science context, with a focus on Spain in this case. This perspective also facilitates the integration of the inherent complexity of measuring relational dynamics in organizations, which contributes to the gender gap [ 31 ]. The gender gap should be understood as a multi-dimensional concept: people involved, relational dynamics [ 31 ], and organizational culture. Therefore, it should be treated as a multi-criteria problem and studied using multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM). These methods are highly appreciated for developing monitoring tools [ 22 ], for example, the work of [ 32 ] where a multi-criteria decision model is used to measure sustainable energy development efficiency [ 22 ]. See [ 33 ] for more information on MCDM.

We propose a methodology for an in-depth study of research centres investigating energy-related issues. This methodology can be adapted to develop tools to monitor and diagnose different research centres and their specific contexts.

Our proposal will make three contributions to the energy research field: first, by presenting the possible indicators at the organizational level in research centres and a methodology to prioritize them according to the centre’s needs; second, by monitoring and presenting results of a specific research centre in the energy field; and third, by including recommendations to address the gender dynamics contributing to indicate gender gaps within the monitored centre.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: “ Methodology ” section presents the research methodology and methods employed. “ Results ” section shows the results and “ Discussion ” section discusses the implications and is divided into the case of study recommendations and general contributions to the energy field. Finally, “ Conclusions ” section summarizes the conclusions of the research.

Methodology

The proposed methodological approach of this research is presented in Fig.  1 . It is developed through two main stages: the design of the general methodology and the application to a specific energy research centre.

Methodology diagram. The stages of the methodology correspond to the sections where these tasks are described in the paper

Our diagnostic tool is developed in two stages. The first is generic and useful for any public research organization. The second is specific to a particular research centre in the energy field. In other words, we obtain generic indicators that can be used to measure any organization and we adapt them to the context and then use them to monitor and diagnose a particular Spanish Energy Research Centre.

The goal of the first is to identify all the relevant perspectives and dimensions related to the gender gap and to determine a specific list of performance indicators to monitor and evaluate gender roles and inequalities in research centres. This general methodology employs an integrated MCDM-based approach using a combination of Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) to determine the most influential criteria for the gender gap in research centres. The combination of these two methodologies (DANP) is novel in the context of gender policies and integrates the benefits of both methods. ANP [ 34 ] allows us a full analysis of the influence of all the factors that make up a network (see [ 34 ] for more information on ANP). In addition, DEMATEL [ 35 ] permits a cause and effect analysis of the various network elements involved [ 36 , 37 ].

The aim of the second is to monitor the performance of a selected Spanish Energy Research Centre (ERC). All the indicators will be measured and analysed according to the results of importance and influence obtained for each.

This stage of the methodology has involved the thorough documentation of the institution itself (bibliometric indicators and other registered numerical indicators), as well as the document analysis of relevant scientific legislation. The analysis of hiring and promotion processes, among other variables, has entailed an in-depth examination of the laws and regulations governing these processes in Spain. A comprehensive study of documentation on Spanish state-level legislation and university organization was conducted to understand the specificities of the case study in the scientific context. A document analysis was carried out to analyse and perform an in-depth study of the chosen case study. Likewise, the content analysis of scientific Spanish legislation [ 38 ] and scientific reports [ 16 , 28 ] have also served methodologically when designing the script of the in-depth interviews. For methodological reasons, a binary gender system has been assumed in the construction of indicators and in the analysis of results. Nevertheless, in the sociodemographic questions of the questionnaire, the possibility of including other gender identities has been provided. This assumption of the binary system aims to facilitate both the research and the data interpretation. However, the authors are aware of the limitations posed by this binary approach and acknowledge the diverse expressions and identities that may manifest within such contexts.

Finally, some recommendations and guidelines will be addressed to the management team of the research centre in order to target their gender gap.

General methodology

Selection of indicators and relevant aspects.

Focusing on the selection of indicators, [ 22 ] proposed a list for Research and Innovation purposes from a Responsible Perspective for the Spanish context subsequent to an in-depth review of the existing indicators provided by relevant reports, such as the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) European Expert Group , the collection of She Figures EU reports, or the Spanish version of She Figures, Científicas en Cifras . Based on [ 22 ] study and previous knowledge, we developed a general, extensive list of indicators that should be considered in the analysis of the gender gap in research centres (Table  1 ). This preliminary list of indicators is organized into 6 main groups, which are the most common when analysing the gender gap in research centres.

Prioritization of indicators by experts

The DANP technique is used to evaluate the gender gap criteria (indicators), allowing us to rank these criteria in relation to the objective: evaluate gender roles and inequalities in research centres.

Selection of experts

Our methodology considers the inclusion of energy stakeholders, not only gender experts [ 39 ], in an interdisciplinary approach that combines experts from social sciences, politics, and engineering for methodological development. This interdisciplinary approach aligns with the underlying debate about the topic in energy studies [ 40 ].

The research team includes various types of experts, encompassing those dedicated to gender issues within the Spanish scientific system and engineers specializing in energy. The MCDM technique we use relies heavily on the quality, rather than the quantity, of these experts due to its semi-quantitative and expert-oriented nature [ 41 ]. It is vital that the experts display both a comprehensive understanding of the implications of their fields within the context of our case study and a holistic perspective on research centre activities. In order to ensure a comprehensive assessment, our DANP model requires multiple experts on each panel for cross-verification purposes. Our panel, comprised five individuals—one political scientist, one sociologist, and three engineers—was initially chosen to define the DANP model and validate context-based indicators suitable for any research centre. Recognizing the need to integrate the specific dynamics of the energy engineering sector, we expanded our expert panel by including two additional individuals with in-depth knowledge of the field of energy research. With a total of 7 experts, this panel evaluated context-based indicators, weighting them based on their impact on gender equity.

A detailed description of the cross-experience of our 7 experts is shown in Table  2

Model definition

The ranking model is built upon a network of criteria that have mutual influence. These criteria are derived from a literature review and the context is validated by the panel of 5 experts through a first participatory session.

The relevance of the indicators is heavily affected by the different contexts. The panel evaluates the criteria (indicators) integrating the context. Expert prioritization pinpoints the causal relations and diverse shapes of a specific problem that refuses to be measured.

The objective will be to identify which are important and which are crucial in the specific setting of the energy research centre within both the university and the Spanish research system, considering a panoramic view of the gathered data. This will contribute significantly to an interpretation of the results and the formation of recommendations. The aim is to tailor the general gender gap indicators for research centres (preliminary list) into indicators suitable for monitoring Spanish energy research centres (list of context-based indicators).

For this purpose, we designed a questionnaire that was used to ask the experts individually to elicit their judgements.

Application to a specific Energy Research Centre

Weighting and interactions of indicators.

After constructing the model and receiving validation from the experts, the DANP method is applied in five steps:

Step 1: Generation of Direct-Relation Matrix A. Firstly, measuring the relationship between criteria requires the design of a comparison scale on a 0–4 scale:

0 (no influence)

1 (low influence)

2 (medium influence)

3 (high influence)

4 (very high influence)

Next, experts make pairwise comparisons of the influences between the criteria. Then, the initial data are obtained as the direct-relation matrix. Matrix A is an nxn matrix in which aij denotes the degree to which criterion i affects criterion j .

Step 2: Normalizing the direct-relation matrix. On the basis of direct-relation matrix A , the normalized direct-relation matrix X can be obtained through equations:

where a ij is the values of the direct-relation matrix.

Step 3: Obtaining the total-relation matrix: T can be obtained by using (Eq.  5 ), in which the I is denoted as the identity matrix:

Step 4: Obtaining the causal diagram of the criteria. Parameters D and Rare obtained for each criterion from matrix T using the following equations:

The cause–effect diagram permits the analysis of the degree of prominence, given by the sum of D and R (horizontal axis), and the degree of cause or effect, given by the subtraction of D and R (vertical axis).

Step 5: Normalizing each column of the T matrix (unweighted) by its sum, we obtain the weighted supermatrix:

where w ij is the values of the weighted supermatrix and t ij is the values of the total-relation matrix.

Step 6: Calculating the limit matrix. In this step, the weighted matrix is multiplied by itself until all its columns become equal, i.e. the values converge, and the process ends. This way, each element’s individual influences on the network’s other elements are obtained from this limit supermatrix.

The criteria values are extracted from the vector of the limit supermatrix and normalized by the sum to obtain their final weights. In this way, we can obtain the criteria ranking, which will allow us to understand the decision profile of the experts.

After receiving individual assessment results of DANP, each expert validates her/his own results. If the results are unsatisfactory, she/he revises the results of the pairwise comparisons to ensure that the results are coherent with her/his knowledge and overall assessment.

Monitoring of the research centre

Online survey: primary data.

In addition to the personal interviews, an online survey was designed and circulated to reach as many people as possible within the organization. The study aimed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information to study the gender gap in Energy Research Centres and to identify barriers that potentially hinder the careers of women. Data were gathered through single and multiple choice, and open-ended questions by using Qualtrics software, Version July 2023. Copyright© 2023 Qualtrics. Gender and year of birth were requested for data analysis purposes but no information that would potentially identify the respondent was collected. The survey consisted of 20 questions addressing the level of seniority achieved, the perception of the formal and informal atmosphere of the organization, awareness of the equity plan, use of work–life balance measures, and experience in leading projects.

The survey was sent to the head of the research centre to be internally disseminated by email to all the workers of the institution. Our population is all the researchers who were registered as members of the ERC in May 2023, i.e. 48 people. A total of 36 people answered and, according to their distribution by professional category and gender, it was concluded that the sample was sufficiently representative. The only a priori bias detected was motivation, i.e. the proportion of women in relation to the total number of employees answering the questionnaire is higher than that of men. However, both gender groups are sufficiently represented.

The content validity of the survey was initially tested on a sample of 10 people from diverse academic backgrounds residing in Spain. The survey was adjusted by integrating the feedback received. The data from the pilot are not included in the results.

Databases: secondary data

The institutional database and the university’s website were consulted for information on the position, professional category, and academic merits (patents, scientific production, projects and other outcomes) of all the members of the research centre.

In-depth interviews: primary data

Twelve in-depth interviews (30–60 min long) were conducted with women and men in permanent and non-permanent positions at the centre (12 in total). The interviewees were selected based on a strategic selection of participants to ensure representativeness and to provide diverse and information-rich perspectives on the research topic. The distribution of interviewees corresponds to the structure of the energy engineering field itself, a highly masculine area as seen above.

The aim of the interviews was to obtain information on the perceptions, opinions, and experiences of the centre’s staff as regards gender issues from a representative number of individuals of differing professional categories and genders. Following the logic of the dimensions of the indicators, the interview guide was structured into these four blocks (see “ Qualitative information ” section). The information extracted was transcribed and analysed according to the qualitative content method [ 42 ]. The N-VIVO software was used as a tool to support the analysis.

We have divided the analysis of the results into two parts. In the first part, we show the results obtained for the indicators. These results are generic, i.e. they could be useful for monitoring the gender gap in any research centre in the Spanish research system.

Secondly, we present the results of the weighting of the context-based indicators and the monitoring of an energy technology research centre. The results have been obtained by measuring the performance of a particular centre for each of the proposed indicators.

Indicators to monitor the gender gap in research centres in Spain

Model description (energy research gender indicators).

Once the preliminary list of indicators was obtained (see “ Selection of indicators and relevant aspects ” section), and based on the context of the research centres, the main indicators were selected for the purposes of monitoring these centres. The final list of indicators, which was drawn up through a second participatory session of scientists with expertise in gender and energy, is shown in Table  3 . These selected indicators will be the DANP elements of the network.

This second expert prioritization phase took place during a comprehensive face-to-face session. The experts were convened for a half-day session. The initial session started with the validation of the indicators, which were thoroughly examined and deliberated over to ensure unanimous agreement on the list. Once the indicators were validated, the facilitators (some authors of this paper) elucidated the DANP principles, enhancing the experts’ comprehension and facilitating the clarity of the subsequent surveys. After that, each expert addressed his/her surveys individually under the guidance of facilitators. The results of each survey were immediately processed and presented to each of the experts for review. Subsequently, the facilitators aggregated all the individual results using the geometric mean, the consensus judgement according to [ 41 ], so as to obtain the group responses.

The criteria are clustered into four categories as shown in Fig.  2 : research management and results, staff configuration and structure, work culture, and gender contents in research.

Overview of the proposed model

Results obtained for the weights and interactions of the indicators

The context-based indicators already defined must be weighted, obtaining the Energy Research Gender Indicators (ERGIs). For this, we use the DEMATEL technique.

The expanded panel of experts (see Table  2 ) will then be asked individually to elicit their judgements. To this end, we designed a questionnaire in which they will be asked to rate the intensity of the influence between each pair of criteria from 0 to 4, in which 0 is no influence and 4 is maximum influence. An example of this questionnaire is shown in Fig.  3 .

Questionnaire used to weight the influence of context-based indicators

The DANP method prioritizes the selected indicators from the most to the least important for the evaluation of gender issues in the ERC, according to the participating experts.

The final prioritization of indicators for the aggregated group of experts obtained with the DANP technique is shown in Table  4 and Fig.  4 .

Prioritization of the indicators

In Fig.  4 , three indicators stand out slightly from the rest. The first is C24: Gender diversity in organizational leadership positions; the second C34: Existence of an equality plan, and the third C11: Gender diversity in research leadership. Two of them are related to the leadership of women.

This graph also shows that indicators related to the organization’s own structure, staff configuration and work culture, are more important than indicators related to research outputs when measuring the gender gap in the institution. The use of the DEMATEL technique also allows us to obtain very detailed and relevant information regarding the influences exerted by the indicators on each other. In Table  5 , we present the matrix of influences obtained by the set of experts. In this matrix, each cell represents the influence that the indicator in the row exerts on the indicator in the column.

The total relationship matrix presented in Table  5 shows the results in three different levels according to the two obtained thresholds for relevance [ 21 ]:

Threshold 1. Moderate influence: mean + 1 standard deviation (0.209)

Threshold 2. High influence: mean + 2 standard deviation (0.292)

Grey values are below threshold 1, black values are above threshold 1, and bold values are above threshold 2.

In addition, in the matrix we present the results of the calculations of factors D and R for each indicator (see Eqs.  1 – 5 ). Recall that factor D indicates the level of influence exerted by an indicator and factor R represents the level of influence that the indicator receives. In this second level of analysis, we can see that the indicators with the greatest influence are C34 and C24, which coincide with the two indicators that Fig.  3 shows as being the most important. We also observe that the two most influential indicators are C34 and C11. In other words, the indicators that stand out for their influence on the network coincide with the most important.

We would like to represent this information in a cause-effect diagram; in Fig.  5 we present the X -axis, which shows the degree of importance of each indicator ( R  +  R ) and the Y -axis, which shows the degree of cause (positive values) or effect (negative values) of each indicator ( D – R ).

Cause–effect diagram of the ERGIs

As can be seen in this diagram, the indicators are classified into four quadrants [ 43 ]. We may observe that the indicators that appear in quadrant II are: C24, gender diversity in organizational leadership positions and C31, ease-of-use of work–life balance measures. These can be considered key factors and should be taken into account when designing gender actions. Indicator C31 has not appeared until now as it belongs neither to the most influential nor to the most important group. However, the combination of both properties places it in quadrant II, which makes it a relevant factor when measuring the gender gap in research centres. Our interpretation of these two key factors is that the role of senior researchers is crucial because the fact that there are women in the relevant positions serves as a mirror in which they look for the other women working in the same research centre. In addition, the dynamics can be different when there are women in leadership since it makes clear to the staff in their charge what position they might occupy in the hierarchy of the organization. This result aligned with those from previous studies [ 30 ]. In our case study, the effect of the low number of women and the fact that part of the staff is not accustomed to mixed-gendered interactions have been clearly stated during the interviews. We find that women with a clear vision of equality problems in the centre have probably created a safe environment, bearing in mind that the younger women under their command have not perceived the problems they had faced. However, that affects only a few of the research groups of the centre, groups in which there is a high concentration of female members by the way.

On the other hand, the availability and ease of use of work–life balance measures are considered highly relevant factors that could make the difference when attempting to attract more women to a field as masculine as energy engineering.

Additional conclusions that can be drawn from Fig.  5 are as follows:

These indicators are isolated: C12, mobility actions carried out ; C33, existence of regulations on conduct in cases of workplace harassment and C14, participation of women in knowledge transfer . This means that they are less influential on others. For instance, according to the national authorities, mobility or knowledge transfer are relevant requirements for career advancement but have limited impact on other gender aspects, as is the case of sexual harassment regulations, which are highly relevant but not so closely related to others.

C41, gender contents in research appears to be of low influence and not of great importance. Not all research leaves room for gender perspective integration as is the case of some research in the field of energy.

Finally, we would like to re-emphasize those indicators that appear to be very influential but not very important: C23, transparency in selection processes ; C35, specific training in gender issues . These would be indicators that have a strong influence on others, but which would not be so important on their own, i.e. without considering their relationships with the rest. It is necessary to consider them whenever their influence is exerted on important indicators. For instance, transparency in selection processes affects the distribution of staff both vertically and horizontally, whereas the fact that staff are trained in gender issues will make them more aware of these issues and more critical of inequalities.

Results of the monitoring of a research centre in energy engineering

Qualitative information.

The three thematic blocks of the information obtained from the personal interviews correspond to the dimensions developed in the Energy Research Gender Indicators (ERGIs): (1) research management and results; (2) staff configuration and structure; (3) working culture; and (4) gender contents in research.

Firstly, as regards research management, a large proportion of the men interviewed stated that the organization, participation, and leadership of research in the centre only respond to meritocratic and hierarchical issues and that gender has no influence whatsoever. A researcher stated “the truth is that we were surprised by your interview because here we do not… here what matters is what matters. (…) women, men, and everything. And the truth is that I believe that no discrimination has ever been made” (I1). However, the women interviewed expressed a more critical attitude towards the management of gender diversity in the centre.

Secondly, the unequal proportion of men and women in the organization is one of the issues most frequently mentioned. It is stated that this is a structural problem of the discipline, which manifests itself as early as undergraduate studies, on which very few women are enrolled, and which is reproduced on the subsequent levels of the scientific career and, therefore, at the centre. Furthermore, they state that in comparison, “there are many women at the entry level, but very few go all the way [to a research career]” (I3). There are no proactive measures to try to reverse the structural inequality in the centre by taking positive discrimination measures in selection processes or by making specific calls to attract more women. The permanent researchers interviewed claim to select members of their group based on their knowledge and specialization, regardless of gender. Furthermore, as will be seen in the quantitative results (“ Quantitative information ” section), there is a clear gender gap in positions of responsibility, both vertically and horizontally.

Thirdly, as regards the work culture, working hours are flexible, which is seen as positive for both the family and private life of men and women. However, these measures are still insufficient, as one of the interviewees stated: “private life still affects women more in terms of career development (…) motherhood (…) leaves you behind” (I7).

It is also important to highlight the participation dynamics and the atmosphere in the centre. The fact that there is a reduced number of women is influential, insofar as the women feel less involved because they are in a smaller proportion. And “I do have to say that it is still noticeable that men are not used to it. There are very, very few …that will surely affect that men are accustomed to dealing with men” (I7).

Finally, the incorporation of the gender perspective in research, which is seen, in most cases, as something alien to the nature of the work due to its object of study (e.g., fundamental science). In these studies, in which this perspective would have a place, it is considered that “[considering] research questions or the object of our work is more difficult for us because we do not have the skills. What we know how to do, we do not know how it can contribute” (I10).

On the other hand, although most of the interviewees know of the existence of an equality plan and sexual harassment protocols, it is only their existence that is acknowledged, not their content or implications in the centre.

In short, most of the male interviewees’ discourse centred around the fact that there is no gender-related problem at the institution, either in the management of research or in the working environment. However, this is not the case for some of the women interviewed who do allude to different problems of gender discrimination, such as “the distribution of tasks and roles in the centre” (I2).

Quantitative information

Primary data results: survey.

Researchers who indicated they had children (60%) were asked whether they had taken maternity/paternity leave. 100% of the women with children reported taking maternity leave, whereas less than 50% of the men did. This is especially relevant since maternity leave was regarded by some of the researchers as a critical point in the development of a woman’s scientific career, leading to them losing advantage compared to their male counterparts. If men took paternity leave as well, the difference would not be so blatant, and the impact would be smaller.

The large majority of respondents (75%) reported not having received any gender equality training (see Fig.  6 ). The primary source of training for those who did was the university.

Gender equality training received

Secondary data results: website of the centre and official university database

The research outcomes of all ERC staff were thoroughly reviewed and analysed. This examination included several variables, such as the quantity of published papers, papers published as first authors, research projects as PI, contracts obtained, number of contracts in which they participate, and patents. The analysis was focused on the data from 2019–2023, which were later on segregated by gender. The aim was to identify key factors contributing to scientific career advancement.

Table 6 shows the members of the monitored centre classified according to professional categories following the Spanish university system. Notably, there are no women in the highest category.

Figures  7 and 8 compare gender distribution in research contracts between private companies and publicly funded R&D projects. A notable difference emerges in leadership roles: senior men predominantly lead contracts with private companies, while senior women tend to lead publicly funded R&D projects. As regards the higher number of women leading public projects (Fig.  7 ), there could be several reasons for this, such as: (i) networking, (ii) the policy of promoting gender equality and (iii) the differences between the motivations and values of men and women in terms of the impact of their results.

Principal investigators of publicly funded R&D projects attending to professional tenure and gender

Principal investigators of private contracts attending to professional tenure and gender

Private contracts lack regulations for PIs, whereas for publicly funded projects, there is a policy promoting gender equality in science that positively evaluates projects led by women. On the other hand, and as far as the higher number of men leading private contracts is concerned (Fig.  8 ), that could be a question of ease-of-access to advertising venues since, as the information is not open, are obtained through contacts. Again, the dynamics of a male-connected engineering environment may be observed.

Monitoring of the Research Centre: gathering of data indicators

The results obtained for ERGIs in the monitoring of a Spanish Energy Research Centre as well as the sources from which these results have been collected are shown in Table  7 .

As regards the results of the DANP model and the ERGI values obtained for the ERC, we propose some recommendations focusing on key factors that should be considered when designing gender actions in this centre. These key factors will be those indicators that are important or influential, (or those that combine both properties), and whose ERGI values are low or qualitatively deficient for the centre. We propose recommendations for those indicators marked with * in Table  7 .

For recommendation purposes, from the total list of 14 indicators we choose those that add up to 50% of the total weight. This prioritization allows us to focus on the most important factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on the outcome and prevents the inclusion of too many recommendations that could lead to excessive complexity and potentially obscure the improvement of the process. Therefore, we will more thoroughly analyse the indicators that add up to 50% of the weighting process according to Fig.  1 : C24, C34, C11, C21, and C35.

Case study: key indicators and recommendations

As far as the results of the DANP model and the ERGI values obtained for the analysed ERC are concerned, we propose recommendations in the following indicators (marked in Table  7 with *):

C24. Gender diversity in organizational leadership positions

C34. Awareness of the existence of an equality plan

C11. Gender diversity in research leadership—% Women principal investigators of projects

C21. Vertical segregation

C35. Gender-specific training

C31. Ease-of-use of work–life balance measures

The lack of women in organizational leadership positions is pronounced in the case of the study as no women are present in head positions. This indicator (C24) affects multiple dimensions. The insufficient or, in this case, inexistent female representation in high-level positions might dissuade women from joining an organization in which they do not foresee career development. The presence of women in management might be perceived as making panels more approachable or more receptive to the acknowledgement and tackling of gender issues than those that are exclusively male. Additionally, the absence of women in high positions can potentially disincentivize them from entering an institution where gender dynamics might pose a challenge. These arguments also apply to indicators C21: Vertical segregation and C11: Gender diversity in research leadership . In the case of indicator C11, it is worth highlighting that being the principal investigator of projects is a requirement for any advancement in academic research in the energy sector in Spain. The low proportion of female principal investigators in projects could explain the absence of women in leadership positions. The difficulty they experience in advancing their scientific careers, and consequently accessing management positions, may be a contributing factor.

There is a prevailing belief within the research centre that only meritocracy drives success, dismissing other factors—especially gender—as irrelevant. Despite the evidence, including the low representation of female leaders in the scientific output of the Spanish energy sector [ 17 ], many members fail to recognize existing differences or inequalities. Consequently, these indicators could serve as a pivotal tool to raise awareness and challenge expected resistance towards equality measures within specific groups.

Specific training on gender (C35) would address two different aspects identified in this case study. Firstly, it would provide training to those people who recognize that there is a gender gap and are willing to work towards reducing it but do not have the tools or knowledge to address it, either as a power figure or as part of the group. And secondly, it would increase the awareness of those who consider that no gender gap exists, nor that changes should be made to accommodate a more inclusive view. Thus, given its importance, gender training should not be the sole responsibility of the University's Equality Committee, but the research centre should also oversee the proposal and development of activities that promote training in equality to make this as cross-cutting and diverse as possible.

Furthermore, there is a significant lack of awareness regarding the content of the equality plan (C34). The actions taken to circulate this content and make it visible to the staff should be promoted by the management. However, this would require an initial acknowledgment of the gender gap by the heads of the institution.

The availability of work–life balance measures (C31) is identified as a crucial indicator for the career development of women in research. Yet, availability is not enough. The acceptance of such measures by the work environment as well as whether men make use of them are important factors that weigh in women’s career development. If men in the institution are making equal use of the measures, women’s careers will be less negatively impacted from a competitive point of view when they use them. Besides, it is also a sign that the organizational culture is more sensitive, and that care is not considered a women-only issue.

Furthermore, the ease with which women can make use of the work–life balance measures is considered a highly relevant factor, which leads us to believe that centres not placing obstacles in their way—considering the reasons why they use them—would be an attractive factor for women. Particularly in a field as masculine as energy engineering.

While work–life balance measures are present they are often informal, and the absence of official guidelines gives line managers the discretion to determine the extent, duration, and timing of these measures. Therefore, a change of manager might entail a change of conditions or some uncertainty towards what their rights will be, as some men pointed out in the interviews.

The Gender Perspective in Research Content (C41) was not identified as a relevant indicator, possibly due to the nature of the research. Indeed, for some of the research conducted, gender perspective cannot be applied; for example, in the study of the disposition of photovoltaic cells. However, it was detected that this possibility had often not been considered. Therefore, future research should assess whether its impact may be different for women and whether it is possible to integrate a gender perspective into both the samples and data collection. Several studies have shown that men and women may have different energy consumption patterns due to varying daily routines, responsibilities, and access to resources [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Taking gender differences into consideration can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the energy needs and these consumption patterns. This is particularly relevant, since women are the primary users of household energy in both developing and industrialized countries [ 8 ]. It could also contribute to the fostering of a broader and fairer approach in policy and technology development; for instance, adapting renewable energy projects to address specific needs of women in rural areas [ 18 , 48 ], or simply having enough understanding not to create inequalities or perpetuate those already existing.

Finally, a recommendation is addressed to the home institution of the research centre. The centre has no expertise in gender equality, while the equality plans are located at university level. We have identified that some gendered distortions that exist throughout the whole Spanish research system- such as gendered precariousness and the impact of family responsibilities- are not mitigated by centre measures and university measures are equally absent and unrecognized. Considering the effort to be made, the research centre cannot do it alone; for its development, it should have the support of the equality unit of the institution to which it belongs. The centre could greatly benefit from developing a tailored equality plan that considers its unique circumstances as regards the gender gap. While rooted in the general measures of the institution's plan, the centre’s plan should incorporate specific aspects that reflect its nuances. This entails integrating measures specifically designed to address and bridge the gender gap within the research centre.

General discussion

To effectively study and enhance the presence and participation of women in the field of energy science, comprehensive data are imperative. Disaggregated data, at least separated into area of knowledge, category, and gender, is vital for both informed decision-making and understanding the reality within research centres, enabling the necessary steps to be taken.

The case study research method carried out aims to provide insights into the workings of a particular process within its context, enabling us to observe the dynamics of the agents and infer explanations. However, it is important to note that this approach is not representative and can only be compared once more cases have been developed [ 49 ]. Expanding the research to monitor additional energy research centres would enhance the model and offer deeper insights into the unique dynamics and challenges within this domain. While each centre may present distinct dynamics, this adaptable model is designed to accommodate and integrate these differences. Therefore, this tool can serve both diagnostic and awareness-raising purposes—a conversation starter rooted in data, demonstrating the persistent existence of the gender gap demanding attention and resolution. The presented indicators possess the potential to serve as diagnostic tools for understanding the gender gap within research institutions and for raising awareness. This is particularly crucial in fields such as energy, where according to the cited literature, the gender gap is often overlooked, as we found out in our case study.

We are currently monitoring other research centres using the same general methodology and replicating the specific methodological part of the case study in two additional scientific sectors: applied technologies and biology sciences. The findings in these two case studies reveal similar dynamics in the underrepresentation of women, especially in leadership roles in research and management positions. What may also be observed is how little aware these organizations are of the existing gender gap.

The development of an indicator tool based on DANP not only serves as a proactive approach to the monitoring and evaluation of gender roles and inequalities in research centres but also contributes to interpreting results and forming recommendations. Applied in a case study, this tool is specifically tailored to incorporate findings from literature reviews and both qualitative and quantitative organizational inputs, considering the broader energy, science, and gender context in Spain.

The tool’s design considers the complexity of measuring relational dynamics within organizations, recognizing that these dynamics significantly contribute to the gender gap. This perspective helps integrate various dimensions, including the individuals involved, relational dynamics, and organizational culture. The gender gap is portrayed as a multi-dimensional problem, extending beyond mere numerical representation. Using a multi-criteria decision-making method, we assess the impact of the indicators on gender equality in order to address the gender gap in a specific research centre. This method entails the selection and grouping of decision criteria, followed by the analysis of interactions within the network model defined, considering the opinion of energy stakeholders, not only gender experts.

Our context-sensitive methodology reveals specific dynamics. For instance, in the analysed centre, a sexist environment emerges through informal comments, such as jokes; men often underuse available life–work balance measures, and there is a gendered pattern in fund access: women primarily lead publicly funded projects, limiting their diversification due to a more limited access to private funds.

The use of indicators serves as powerful diagnostic tool and catalyst for awareness. They highlight the persistent gender gap, particularly in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as energy engineering, where this gap often goes unrecognized and acts as a catalyst for conversations about the changes required.

It is advisable to expand the research so as to monitor more centres for the purposes of refining the model and better understanding the nuances of the gender gap. An ongoing monitoring would help to identify existing disparities and instigate actions toward gender equality. For this reason, the research would benefit from the monitoring of more energy research centres to further adapt the model and better understand the particularities that this area might include. Our findings, from an in-depth case study, can be discussed in the development of further research avenues on gender and energy. However, each organization is unique and the methodology we propose is designed to fit the specific dynamics of each centre.

Limitations and future research lines

We acknowledge and emphasize the intrinsic limitation of our in-depth case study methodology and encourage further research that can provide additional insights and patterns into the gender dynamics in energy research centres. Our purpose is to follow up with other energy engineering institutes in Spain, as well as to establish comparisons with other geographical contexts, such as with similar studies conducted in Germany [ 50 ]. This could provide a broader view and strengthen the applicability of the proposed tool in various contexts. We are currently monitoring several research institutes in differing areas of knowledge, also in Spain, with results that are very similar to those presented in this analysis. We intend to continue this study by applying the proposed methodology and carrying out a comparative study of these institutions.

Moreover, we also want to highlight some other limitations regarding data gathering. We were unable to employ any strategies to mitigate non-response bias in the collection of primary data, such as follow-up contacts or incentives for participation due to confidentiality reasons of the monitored centre. This could have compromised the representativeness of the quantitative results through the survey.

Finally, as regards the interpretation of some of the qualitative results, we know that there is an interpretation bias in the results on paternity leave due to the fact that the length of this leave in Spain has varied greatly over the last 20 years from 4 days to 6 months. Since age was not asked in order to anonymize the responses to the questionnaire, it is not possible to relate the length of leave to whether it was taken or not. Further research could have an impact on this issue, since no data has been available until recently.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to the need to protect the privacy of study participants but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Energy Research Centre

Analytic Network Process

Combination of DEMATEL and ANP (DANP)

Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory

Energy Research Gender Indicators (ERGIs)

European Union

Multi-criteria decision methods

Gayoso Heredia M, Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez C, Núñez Peiró M, Sanz Fernández A, López-Bueno JA, Muñoz Gómez G (2022) Mainstreaming a gender perspective into the study of energy poverty in the city of Madrid. Energy Sustain Dev 70:290–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2022.08.007

Article   Google Scholar  

Hanke F, Guyet R (2023) The struggle of energy communities to enhance energy justice: insights from 113 German cases. Energy Sustain Soc 13:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-023-00388-2

Feenstra M, Özerol G (2021) Energy justice as a search light for gender-energy nexus: Towards a conceptual framework. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 138:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110668

Farhar BC, Osnes B, Lowry EA (2014) Energy and gender. In: Press OU (ed) Energy poverty: global challenges and local solutions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 152–179

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Shailaja R (2000) Women, energy and sustainable development. Energy Sustain Dev 4:45–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0973-0826(08)60231-8

Oparaocha S, Dutta S (2011) Gender and energy for sustainable development. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 3:265–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2011.07.003

Standal K, Talevi M, Westskog H (2020) Engaging men and women in energy production in Norway and the United Kingdom: the significance of social practices and gender relations. Energy Res Soc Sci 60:101338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101338

Cecelski E (2000) The role of women in sustainable energy development. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden

Book   Google Scholar  

Imbulana Arachchi J, Managi S (2021) Preferences for energy sustainability: different effects of gender on knowledge and importance. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 141:110767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110767

Cannon CEB, Chu EK (2021) Gender, sexuality, and feminist critiques in energy research: a review and call for transversal thinking. Energy Res Soc Sci 75:102005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102005

Lazoroska D, Palm J, Bergek A (2021) Perceptions of participation and the role of gender for the engagement in solar energy communities in Sweden. Energy Sustain Soc 11:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-021-00312-6

Fraune C (2015) Gender matters: Women, renewable energy, and citizen participation in Germany. Energy Res Soc Sci 7:55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.02.005

Sovacool BK (2014) What are we doing here? Analyzing fifteen years of energy scholarship and proposing a social science research agenda. Energy Res Soc Sci 1:1–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.003

Innovación M de C e (2023) Científicas En Cifras. Estadísticas e indicadores la (des)igualdad género en la Form. y profesión científica. In: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. https://www.ciencia.gob.es/InfoGeneralPortal/documento/f4f6bb28-cae5-4da2-85f4-067508c410eb . Accessed 21 Mar 2024

Estadística IIN de (2023) Estadística de Personal de las Universidades. Curso 2021–2022. In: Ministerio de Universidades. Gobierno de España.  https://www.universidades.gob.es/estadisticas-de-personal-de-las-universidades/ . Accessed 22 Mar 2024

del Carmen Mayoral Gastón M, Sala AML, Zafra R, González TS, Garcés E, Pozo-Bayón MÁ, Campillo NE, Orozco AO, Faraldos M, González-Sampériz P, Criado-Boado F, Iglesias TV-S, Ruiz MC, de Mujeres y Ciencia del CSIC C (2023) Informe Mujeres Investigadoras 2023. In: Digital CSIC https://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/312328 . Accessed 21 Mar 2024

Estudios D De, Fundación D, Fecyt T (2023) Energías renovables: Inquietudes sociales y nuevos desarrollos científico-tecnológicos. In: Informe Tendecncias Fecyt https://www.fecyt.es/es/publicacion/informe-tendencias-energias-renovables-inquietudes-sociales-y-nuevos-desarrollos . Accessed 21 Mar 2024

Ryan SE (2014) Rethinking gender and identity in energy studies. Energy Res Soc Sci 1:96–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.008

Carlsson-Kanyama A, Ripa Juliá I, Röhr U (2010) Unequal representation of women and men in energy company boards and management groups: are there implications for mitigation? Energy Policy 38:4737–4740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.03.072

Baruah B (2017) Renewable inequity? Women’s employment in clean energy in industrialized, emerging and developing economies. Natural resources forum. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, pp 18–29

Google Scholar  

Mort H (2019) A review of energy and gender research in the global north. Technical University of Vienna, Vienna

Otero-Hermida P, García-Melón M (2018) Gender equality indicators for research and innovation from a responsible perspective: the case of Spain. Sustain 10:2980. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092980

Otero-Hermida P (2020) For responsible and transformative innovation : putting people at the centre. exploring windows for change in a state initiative on gender and innovation monitoring within the European merge of governance frames. In: Velez-Cuartas, Romero-Goyeneche U of A (ed) Transformative metrics. Fondo Editorial FCSH, Antioquia, pp 106–124

Mergaert L, EL, (2014) Resistance to implementing gender mainstreaming in. Eur Integr online Pap 18:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1695/2014005

Adamson M, Kelan EK, Lewis P, Rumens N, Slíwa M (2016) The quality of equality: thinking differently about gender inclusion in organizations. Hum Resour Manag Int Dig 24:8–11. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-04-2016-0060

Nielsen MW (2016) Limits to meritocracy? Gender in academic recruitment and promotion processes. Sci Public Policy 43:386–399. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scv052

Benschop Y (2011) Gender practices in the construction of academic excellence: sheep with five legs. Organization 10:507–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508411414293

European Commission (2015) Indicators for promoting and monitoring Responsible Research and Innovation Report from the Expert Group on Policy Indicators. In: Eur. Comm. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/306a7ab4-f3cb-46cb-b675-9697caf5df19/language-en . Accessed 21 Mar 2024

Leydesdorff L, Wouters P, Bornmann L (2016) Professional and citizen bibliometrics: complementarities and ambivalences in the development and use. Scientometrics 109:2129–2150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2150-8

Corona-Sobrino C, García-Melón M, Poveda-Bautista R, González-Urango H (2020) Closing the gender gap at academic conferences: a tool for monitoring and assessing academic events. PLoS ONE 15:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243549

West C, Zimmerman DH (1987) Doing gender. Gend Soc 1:125–151

Suganthi L (2020) Sustainability indices for energy utilization using a multi-criteria decision model. Energy Sustain Soc 10:1–31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-020-00249-2

Belton V, Stewart T (2002) Multiple criteria decision analysis: an integrated approach. Springer Science & Business Media, Kluwer Academic Publisher, Boston

Saaty TL (2001) The analytic network process: decision making with dependence and feedback. RWS Publications, Pittsburgh

Gabus A, Fontela EJBGRC (1972) World problems, an invitation to further thought within the framework of DEMATEL. Battelle Geneva Res Cent 1:12–14

Wu WW (2008) Choosing knowledge management strategies by using a combined ANP and DEMATEL approach. Expert Syst Appl 35:828–835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2007.07.025

Kadoić N, Divjak B, Begičević Ređep N (2019) Integrating the DEMATEL with the analytic network process for effective decision-making. Cent Eur J Oper Res 27:653–678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10100-018-0601-4

Article   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Jefatura de Estado del Gobierno de España (2023) Ley Orgánica 2/2023, de 22 de marzo, del Sistema Universitario. In: Boletín Oficial del Estado 1–73. https://www.boe.es/eli/es/lo/2023/03/22/2/con . Accessed 21 Mar 2024

Schmidt-Scheele R, Hauser W, Scheel O, Minn F, Becker L, Buchgeister J, Hottenroth H, Junne T, Lehr U, Naegler T, Simon S, Sutardhio C, Tietze I, Ulrich P, Viere T, Weidlich A (2022) Sustainability assessments of energy scenarios: citizens’ preferences for and assessments of sustainability indicators. Energy Sustain Soc 12:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-022-00366-0

Xu X, Goswami S, Gulledge J, Wullschleger SD, Thornton PE (2016) Interdisciplinary research in climate and energy sciences. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Energy Environ 5:49–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.180

Saaty TL, Peniwati K (2013) Group decision making: drawing out and reconciling differences. RWS publications, Pittsburgh

Hsieh HF, Shannon SE (2005) Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res 15:1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

Li Y, Zhao K, Zhang F (2023) Identification of key influencing factors to Chinese coal power enterprises transition in the context of carbon neutrality: a modified fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Energy 263:125427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.125427

Clancy J, Roehr U (2003) Gender and energy: is there a Northern perspective? Energy Sustain Dev 7:44–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0973-0826(08)60364-6

Lutzenhiser L (1992) A cultural model of household energy consumption. Energy 17:47–60

Shrestha B, Tiwari SR, Bajracharya SB, Keitsch MM, Rijal HB (2021) Review on the importance of gender perspective in household energy-saving behavior and energy transition for sustainability. Energies 14:7571. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227571

Raaij V, Raaij WF Van (1984) Patterns of residential energy behavior. In: P. Ester (Ed.), Consumer behavior and energy policy: Selected/ed. proceedings of the 1st international conference, Noordwijkerhout, September, 1982. North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp. 97–118

Søraa RA, Anfinsen M, Foulds C, Korsnes M, Lagesen V, Robison R, Ryghaug M (2020) Diversifying diversity: Inclusive engagement, intersectionality, and gender identity in a European Social Sciences and Humanities Energy research project. Energy Res Soc Sci 62:101380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101380

Sayer RA (1992) Method in social science: A realist approach. Psychology Press, Routledge, New York

Thronicker, I., Poppen, J., Tartaroti, V., Heller, K., Schmidtchen J (2023) Diversity Monitoring - Key Indicator Report 2021. In: Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ, Interner Bericht. https://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=46546 . Accessed 20 Feb 2024

Download references

Acknowledgements

This is an extended and updated version of a paper originally presented at the 18th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2022) held in Paphos, Cyprus, over the period 24th to 29th September 2023 (denoted then as paper SDEWES2023.00425 Proposal of an Energy Research Gender Indicator as a diagnostic tool for energy research organizations). Thanks to everyone who contributed to the study by commenting on, filling out and sharing the questionnaire and being interviewed. We would also like to thank the panel of experts in the surveys for their willingness to participate. Finally, we would like to thank Michael Colin Bennett for assisting us with the English revision of the final version of this paper.

Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was supported by project INVISIBLES funded by the regional public administration of Valencia under the grant (AICO/2021/133).

This work was also partly supported by the Ministry of Universities through the EU-funded Margarita Salas programme NextGeneration EU, Valencia University under the Grant (2021-1099).

This work was also partly supported by European Commission H2020 Scientific Understanding and Provision of an Enhanced and Robust Monitoring system for RRI SUPER_MoRRI (H2020-SWAFS/0467-Grant-agreement nº 824671).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

Sara Sánchez-López, Rocío Poveda-Bautista, Paula Otero-Hermida & Mónica García-Melón

Departament Sociologia i Antropologia Social, Universitat de València, Av. dels Tarongers s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

Carmen Corona-Sobrino

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Sara Sánchez-López: writing—original draft, methodology, visualization, data curation. Rocío Poveda-Bautista: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft, writing—review & editing, supervision. Carmen Corona-Sobrino: conceptualization, methodology, software, data curation, visualization, writing—original draft, writing review & editing. Paula Otero-Hermida: conceptualization, writing—review & editing, supervision. Mónica García-Melón: methodology, data-curation, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Sánchez-López .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Universitat Politècnica de València (P17_10_01_20, 10 January 2020). The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. The questionnaire and interviews did not collect personally identifiable data, according to Delegación de Protección de Datos, IRB of Universitat Politècnica de València, and national regulations Law 3/2018, 5th of December, Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights, article 7, published in BOE núm. 294, 06/12/2018, (Reference: BOE-A-2018–16673). The purpose of the study was explained to all the participants at the beginning of the questionnaire and interviews. The participants were also informed that they have the right to leave the questionnaire or interview at any time whenever they feel uncomfortable or do not want to answer any further questions.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Sánchez-López, S., Poveda-Bautista, R., Corona-Sobrino, C. et al. Tackling gender disparities in energy research: a diagnostic tool for equality in research centres. Energ Sustain Soc 14 , 51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-024-00479-8

Download citation

Received : 13 December 2023

Accepted : 14 July 2024

Published : 23 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-024-00479-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Energy research
• Research centres

Energy, Sustainability and Society

ISSN: 2192-0567

• General enquiries: [email protected]